28 Days Later
by Polkadotdotdot
Summary: It only took 28 days for the infection to wipe out most of the population. Now it's up to the Doctor to find his friends and save them before they suffer the same fate 10Rose! 28 Days Later Cross Over
1. The last broadcast of Britain

-- Hey everyone! I decided to mix together two of my obbsessions; 28 Days Later and Doctor Who. The story isn't EXACTLY the same as the film, theres no way that would work but it is based on it . So enjoy and please tell me what you think and if I can improve on anything! --

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Doctor Who or 28 Days Later. I'm just borrowing and mixing :)

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_Torchwood Underground Research Labs 3.00am _

It was quiet in the dark hallway leading to the primate labs at Torchwood. A facility so top secret that even the top directors of the institute knew very little about it. They knew of its excistance sure but the work they did was completely unknown.

The only sound that could be heard was the thundering of footsteps as a group of people all dressed in black ran down the deserted corridor and stopped at a door before bursting it open. The room was dull, the only things you could make out were the outline of the steel work benches and cages containing the test subjects.

"Chris, You serch the work bench and see what you can find, notes or something. Sarah, You go down and see if you can find the locks for the cages." The man stopped talking when he noticed that another of his team mates stood in shock with her hand over her mouth, trembling as she watched one of the primates strapped to what looked like a dentist chair with hundreds of wires attached to it. The man marched over to the girl and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"You want to help him then keep your shit together and get with the programme! We havn't got time to sit and sob!" The girl nodded slightly and the made her way over to Sarah to help her with the locks.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chris spotted a man in a white coat holding a cup of coffee and looking like a deer in headlights. Suddenly the coffee cup was on the floor and the man was dashing towards an intercom on the wall.

"Grab him!" Chris shouted as both him and Sarah grabbed the reasercher and broke the intercom link. The man who was heading the break in grabbed the researcher by the collar.

"Whats going on down here?" He shouted, spitting slightly in the mans face. The man shook his head and struggled against Chris' grip.

"You can't let them out! They're highly contagious!" He screamed back trying to reach out and stop Sarah at the locks.

"Contagious?! With what? What have you done?" Shouted the other girl.

"They are infected, for the good of the country you musn't let them out!"

"Infected with what!?" Chris screamed. The researcher went quiet suddenly and stopped struggling.

"We're not sure, it came from a craft that was found we're still trying to determine what to call it and find the full extent of what it can do..."

"TELL ME!!"

"Rage"

The man in charge shook his head and walked over to Sarah.

"This is bullshit! Open the cages!" He shouted. Sarah immediately started hammering at the locks with a crowbar while the research assistant screamed at them to stop.

"There! Come on little guy, you're free now!" Sarah said at the door of the cage. Suddenly the animal gave a horrific high pitched scream and sprinted towards face of the girl that had just set it free. As fast as it could it lept from the edge of the cage and landed on Sarah's neck, sinking its teeth into her skin and sending blood spraying over the walls. She screamed in pain and tried her best to reach out for help. Chris immediatly dropped the researcher and cracked the primate with Sarah's discarded crow bar sending it across the room.

"Quickly you must kill her! She is infected!" The resercher cried while the head of the crowd demanded to know what was wrong with his fallen team mate. Sarah was writhing and twitching about on the floor, blood pouring from her mouth as Chris turned her over and tried to help. He suddenly let out a scream as the blood Sarah was spitting splattered all over his face, getting into his eyes and mouth.

The last thing the resercher saw was the blood red eyes of the the infections first victim. That was 28 days ago.

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_The Tardis: 28 Days Later_

"I'm telling you Dogs CAN look up!" The tenth Doctor was currently dancing around the control room of the Tardis while his companion sat with a very confused look on her face.

"Doctor this is quite possibly the most stupid argument i've ever been involved in. No they can't!" She said. Sighing with frustration as she ran her hands through her dark hair.

"Martha Jones it is a good thing you're not going to become a vet because you are very very wrong"

"Alright Doctor, whatever you say. I can't be bothered with this argument anymore" She held a puzzled look on her face when she noticed that the Doctor didn't reply or push the argument further. He simply stood staring at one of the monitors, his face completely blank.

"Doctor...is everything alright?" Martha asked quietly. The Doctor looked her direction after a moment.

"I don't know. we've picked up a radio signal and its saying its from earth." He said. Martha stood up from where she was sitting and looked at the screen.

"So why don't you listen to it?" The Doctor looked at her.

"Well give me a chance i'm trying to work out why the Tardis is picking up this radio signal. Shes never done it before you see" The Tardis rumbled and Martha looked around.

"What was that!?"

"She wants me to hear it. She says its very important" The Doctor began to flick a few switches untill a faint radio crackle could be heard.

_"This is Mickey Smith of the Torchwood Alpha Team, praying that someone gets this message. We need help! Someone, Anyone! Please..."_

The atmosphere in the Tardis suddenly turned very cold. The Doctor stood incredibly still, his mouth slightly open. His hearts were both pounding and his throat felt very tight. Martha suddenly felt very uncomfortable, unsure if she should move or stay. Unsure of what to say. She had been told the story of Rose Tyler and how she was lost and she knew who this Mickey was. When the Doctor was in a specific kind of mood he would talk about them and the things they did together. There was always a sadness she couldn't explain behind his eyes and she desperatly wanted to be the one to take his pain away and make him happy. She just didn't know how.

"Doctor, What is it?" She said quietly after a time. The Doctor had still yet to move.

"I...I mean...This can't be possible! They are on a different universe, It's impossible!" He exclaimed, suddenly running around the console with new found energy. The Tardis rumbling and glowing along with him.

"But what if theres a chance its not from that other world? What if they managed to get through?" The Doctor stopped and stared at her for a moment before going back to running around and ruffling his hair.

"No i've thought about it almost a million times. It's not possible!" He said. Suddenly he stopped and his shoulders hunched. "I..don't know what to do, I can't just leave them in trouble but...I don't know how I can get to that world..."

"Well what about...I don't know...a black hole or something..." But he wasn't hearing Martha anymore. There was someone else in his head.

_"Isn't a black hole a gate way to another world?" _

"Thats it..." he whispered. "Tardis? Can you find us a black hole near earth?" The Tardis rumbled happily. The Doctor turned to Martha and held her shoulders.

"This will be dangerous, I'll understand if you want to go home first. I don't know what we're going into" He said, Martha had never seen his face so serious.

"I'm not leaving you! Whatever is there we'll fight it together" She said quietly. The Doctor felt like his knees were about to give way as he heard some of Rose's last words in his head.

_"I made my choice a long time ago and i'm never going to leave you"_

"Alright. Come on, lets get ready" He said. Martha stood in place as he walked away thinking to herself.

"Doctor, What will you do if..." The Doctor stopped and stared at her.

"If what?"

"If she...I mean if Rose..."

"Stop."

"Sorry?" The Doctor walked over to her and looked her dead in the eye, his eyes darker than she'd ever seen them before.

"Just...Stop. Alright?" Martha nodded.

"Sorry Doctor" She muttered as she strode off towards the console, setting the co-ordinates towards the next black hole he could find.

Next Chapter

_The woman was frozen to the ground as the trio fell into the bunker and locked the door behind them. She ripped the gas mask she was wearing off her face and threw it to the ground. Her long blonde hair falling around her face, Her eyes welling up with tears._

_"Oh my God..."_

--- Well there you are! The first of many chapters and I hope you like it. Please please review if you did, I love encouragement! ----


	2. The End is Very Fucking Nigh

-- Here we go again! Chapter 2! Cheers to all those who gave a review good or bad! --

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Doctor who or 28 Days Later! I just mixed the two.

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The Tardis landed with a hard thud against the hard ground. The Doctor picked himself up from the ground then ran over and helped Martha up.

"You alright?" He said, Martha nodded and gave a small smile in reply. The Doctor looked around himself and grinned.

"I don't believe it, the Tardis is still working! Well thats very handy indeed!" He exclaimed, amazed that the power was still going in a different universe.

"Why wouldn't it work?" Martha asked while dusting herself off. The Doctor shrugged and wandered around.

"It normally needs the energy from my universe to work but for some reason the old girl is clinging on for dear life. Heh." Martha walked up to the door.

"Are you ready then? We better go find your friends" She said. The Doctor had suddenly gone very pale and she could have sworn that she saw his hands shaking as he put the sonic screwdriver and psycic paper in his coat pocket.

"Doctor, are you alright?" he didn't answer, he only looked at the Tardis doors for a moment.

"Yeah. Ok i'm alright. Come on lets go" he said quietly.

Martha, even though she had been with the Doctor now for a few months, she still didn't know what to make of the Doctor. Generally he was friendly and fun but occasionally, Just occasionally, his mood would shift. He would go very quiet and very still. It was almost like he was a turtle withdrawing into its own shell and not coming out untill he knew it was safe again to do so. Safe for his emotions that is. She had grown very fond of the man they called the Doctor. It wasn't a school girl crush for the older man in charge, it was more than that. It was a mixture of love, admiration and the fact she was so grateful he gave her that chance to see the stars.

She knew exactly what he was feeling nervous about. A certain blonde girl that had once been in the same position as her. The tought of her still haunted the Tardis and it certainly still haunted the Doctor. Sometimes when he slept, which he rarely did, she could hear him shouting out for Rose at night. He'd wake up in a cold sweat and look worse in the morning than when he went to bed. In a way she almost felt a sort of dislike toward the blonde she had never met. A slight resentment to the fact she still held the Doctors affections and attentions, Even when she wasn't around. Sometimes she had to remind herself that it wasn't Rose's fault. She didn't ask to be lost in a different universe.

The door of the Tardis gave a small 'click' as it opened, the Doctor pushing the door gently and then Martha closing it behind her.

"Where are we Doctor?" Martha said looking around her. She gasped as she saw a double decker red bus lying on its side. The Doctor spun around, taking in all the carnage and destruction.

"It's looks as if we're infront of Buckingham Palace..but...It empty. Where are all the people?" He said. All around him there were abandoned cars, fallen statues and occasionall small random fires were burning.

"Look at this!" Exclaimed Martha, running over to a small pile of random junk. "Who would just leave their belongings scattered around like this? There's thousands of pounds in this bag!"

The Doctor kept one eyebrow raised as he took in the emptyness around him. There wasn't a single soul for miles it seemed.

"Come on, lets have a look around. There has to be someone!" He exclaimed pulling Martha up and onto her feet.

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"How long have we been walking for?" Marta asked for what seemed to the Doctor like the 50th time. He sighed and scuffed his feet along the ground.

"Look I dont know, alright? I've completely lost all count!" He said starting to get snippy. He didn't mean it but walking all over a completely desimated London would do that to a person. He had to admit his feet were starting to hurt just a tiny bit and the complete lack of humanity was starting to, in a word, freak him out. They had walked from Buckingham palace to Soho to Camden Market to West Minster Bridge. No-one was to be found. The only things that could show that something had happened was that there was destruction everywhere; Shop windows broken, cars tipped over and even random suit casses could be found. People had deffinately tried to leave this city but from the looks of things not everyone was successful.

"Well...Do you have any ideas?" Martha's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He viewed his surroundings once more and then looked at his companion for a moment before going back to looking around, trying to find some sort of inspiration.

"Not a clue. What about you?" Martha turned around and marched over to the edge of the bridge and point to the houses of parliament.

"Well there has to be some sort of Government around somewhere right?" The Doctor squinted at the building then shook his head.

"No, whatever has happened here has completely desimated the place. I doubt that anyone of power will still be in that building" His hands quickly dragged through his hair in frustration. He never did deal well with being helpless and he'd never felt more helpless and alone as he did now. Quickly his eye spied something of interest. "Bingo!"

"Bingo What? What have you found?" Martha said running over to him and trying to follow his line of vision.

"I've found...something that might help us. Come on, lets go"

Dusk was setting in when Doctor and Martha approached the church. It was an enormous building of grey stone, worn down over its hundereds of years of existance.

"Why are we here Doctor? I still think we should be finding officials, not looking for petrified, God-fearing people who think that religion is responsible for whatever is going on here!" She exclaimed. The Doctor frowned for a moment but decided to let Martha's comment slide.

"When mass hysteria hits, where do some people go? I mean real people? They try and seek shelter in the one place that won't judge or discriminate, and that is apparently the church. It's worth a shot alright? If we don't find anything then we'll go looking for someone else." He said striding forward towards the building. Martha shivered a little, there was something about this church that she didn't like. It didn't feel like a church would normally feel, it wasn't that inviting beacon of the community that it once was. It was cold and a symbol of what this city and possibly the country was going through.

The only light from inside the building was the coloured marks on the floor from the broken stained glass. The pulpit had been pushed over and was lying in peices on the ground. The seats had been pushed around and filpped over, some of them looked like they had been stacked infront of a back door for some reason. It apparently hadn't worked, whatever they had tried to keep out had gotten in. Martha leaned over one of the up turned benches and peered between them.

"Oh My God, Doctor look!" She gasped in horror. Between the seats lay a dead body of a young man. He couldn't have been more that 25 years old but from the looks of things he didn't have a quiet death. His left cheek was so torn you could see almost through to his teeth and his right eye socket was caved in. The Doctor shook his head and looked around properly at the floor. A floor that was littered with bodies.

"What the hell has been going on here?!" Martha exclaimed, noticing that the crucifix had writing smeared across it and was hanging by only one hinge. The cross read 'The End is Fucking Nigh' across it. Whatever had happened here, it was more than just a mere war.

"I don't know, but whatever it is...it's finished off this country" He said quietly. Martha gawped at him. "Stop catching flies Martha, it's not a good look"

"What do you mean Doctor?" Martha couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had basically been told that London, No, Britain was done for. Alright, so it wasn't her Universe but it was damn close to it. It scared Martha to think that she could so easily forget that it wasn't right for London to be empty like this. She'd be asking the Doctor to take her back home for a visit when she was done here.

There was a clattering coming from behind a door at the back of the church, the sound making the Doctor immediatly stand to attention and pull the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.

"Come on, it might be a survivor. Stay close to me" He said as Martha picked up a stray piece of wood and followed close behind. The sound continued untill they were 15 meters from the door it was coming from. Without warning the door was suddenly thrown open and someone who looked like the minister of the church began to stumble towards them. He was twitching, a strange whimpering, high pitched sort of growl escaping from his throat. The closer he got to the pair, the better they could see his fetures. His skin had taken on a yellow green tinge and his eyes were blood red.

"Now father, relax we're here to help you!" The Doctor exclaimed, the sonic screwdriver pointed at the man. The strange priests speed grew and he lunged toward the Doctor, a screach escaping his throat. They both fell to the floor, the Doctor on his back screaming at Martha to help. She quickly cracked the priest over the head with the lump of wood she was carrying causing him to roll off and lay twitching on the floor.

"Oh my god..I shouldn't have done that.." Martha began but her words were cut short by the Doctor grabbing her wrist and dragging her away.

"Just keep running!" He screamed, refusing to look back and see what was chasing him. He knew there was more than one of those things and they were moving faster than the priet initially did. The pain in their feet and knees from hours of walking in an empty city were soon forgotten as the adreniline rush began to kick in. For a moment Martha wondered why he wasn't holding her hand, it wasn't the first time. Everytime they ran he seemed very determined not to hold her hand and everytime she tried to grab his he did his best to get out of it.

As if from no where suddenly there was a large explosion behind them, sending bits of building everywhere. Two figures dressed in black dashed towards the Doctor and Martha, taking them both and dragging them to a safe area while another two figures in roughly the same outfit were shooting at the diseased looking people running and screaming at them.

"What the hell is going on here!?" The Doctor screamed at one of the figures who didn't say anything but pointed towards what was going on. The figures were all like clones, each dressed all in black with Gas Masks on. Their only defining logo was a white symbol and some writing. 'Torchwood Special Forces. Alpha Team' It said.

"Doctor, we havn't got time to explain now...but i'm sure glad to see you!" The figure to his left said in a familiar voice. The Doctor couldn't place it but he soon had something else to focus on as the one of the other two with guns was running towards them, leaving the other behind to be slaughtered.

"We can't leave him!" Martha shouted. She was signaled to be quiet as she saw the Torchwood soldiers plans. One of the diseased looking people had been set on fire and was running straight towards a petrol station that was leaking. As quickly as they could they were piled into the back of a waiting Hummer and were suddenly driven to safety, leaving a mass of flame, smoke and dead bodies.

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"Now will someone answer me?!" The Doctor exclaimed, his hands waving in exageration. The man sitting opposite him reached around the back of his head and a faint 'click' could be heard as he undid the back of his mask. A gloved hand pulled the black rubber from his face and he smiled.

"Good to see you boss" The Doctor almost felt the need to rub his eyes in disbelief. Mickey smiled at him, but it wasn't as happy as the reunion should have been.

"Mickey! How...I mean...I'd love to ask you something simple like 'hows the weather been here' but I need to know. What the hell is going on?" Mickey shook his head and looked sadly at his dirty boots.

"I don't know all the details but...lets just say Torchwood have done it again" he said. The Doctor held a very strange look on his face. It was a mixture of anger, sadness and something that Mickey or Martha couldn't quite place. "We're going to an underground bunker than Pete built for his family. We'll be safe in there for now, theres cameras placed outside it so we can see what going on outside" He said quietly. The Doctor nodded and then spied Mickeys arm.

"So what are you doing with yourself. You seem very...different" The Doctor said. Mickey smirked a little and then patted his arm.

"I'm the second in command of the Torchwood Alpha team. Special ops, we get sent in to clean up all the dirty work. I'm not the only one either! Theres me, Jake, the guy who was killed there was Mark and Rose..." The Doctors head snapped up and his stared at Mickey, his eyes dark but with a slight shimmer behind them.

"Rose...Rose is she...she" he said quietly, not able to get the words out. Martha laid her hand on his arm. An action that didn't go unnoticed by Mickey.

"Is she dead? No, shes back at the bunker at the moment..." He didn't hear anything else Mickey was saying. His head tipped back so it was lying back against the side of the car, his head swimming with thoughts of their last conversation.

_"I love you"_

_"Quite right too, and I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it...Rose Tyler..." _

The only thing his head was focusing on wasn't the death. It wasn't the fact that apparently Torchwood had destroyed London. It was that Rose Tyler was alive. And he was going to see her again.

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It was quiet again where they arrived, quiet in comparison to the burning sound that they had driven away from. They drove into the driveway of a massive house but they didn't stop to go inside. They stopped in the middle of the lawn at the left hand side. Mickey jumped from the car with his gun and scanned the area, he didn't care if it was quiet. If this situation had taught him anything, it was never to let your gaurd down. He pressed a button and suddenly a patch of the grass moved, on closer inspection Martha noticed it was fake grass that was moving to reveal a steep stair case leading down to another, not so fake looking door. Jake and Mickey ushered the other two in, pressing a red button making the 'grass' close back over.

"Where are we?" Martha said. Mickey turned around and smiled at her.

"We're going into a bunker in Pete Tyler's back garden. He built it incase any cybermen turned up, this meant his family had somewhere to go that was safe. Don't worry it looked beter from the inside!" He said. He pushed ahead of everyone and hit the large metal door with the butt of his gun. There was a loud clanging sound as the locks from the other side where undone and the door slowly began to open.

The more it opened, the Doctor could see a small glimps of was was behind it.

"Mickey? Jake?" said a small voice. A voice he never thought he'd hear again. A terrified Jackie Tyler stood before them, dressed in simply jeans, a Tee and boots with No make-up on her face. 'All she managed to take from the house' Martha Guessed. Jacked scanned over the foursome, her eyes growing wide with dis-belief when she saw the Doctor standing infront of her.

"Oh my...Doctor?! How can you...I mean... Thank God you're here!" She cried as she pulled him into the bunker and wrapping him in a desperate, bone crushing hug. Her tears soaking his coat.

"Shh it's ok, i'm here and everything will be fine!" He said in the most soothing voice he could manage without sounding too confused. Jackie puled hersel together after a few seconds an stood aside so everyone could get inside. She pushed the door closed and pulled over two massive handles, lots of small 'clicks' and 'clangs' as it was locked in place.

"Ok, cup of tea then?" she said, surprisingly chirpy compared to her previous mood.

The bunker was by no means uncomfortable, but the Doctor wasn't surprised. Pete Tyler would do anything for his family, he knew that much and if they were having to hide underground then they wouldn't be doing it without some comfort. It was the size of a very large living room, kitted out like one too. There was a three seater counch in the middle and one two seater against the far wall, a coffee table infront of the three seater as well as a small kitchen area to the left (but no stove, a fire hazzard the Doctor Guessed.) There were also two doors that apparently lead off to a sleeping area and even a bathroom. Oh yes, Pete Tyler had his family very well cared for. While the Doctor roamed around, Martha perched on the edge of the two seater couch, feeling extremely out of place and slightly unwelcome.

"Jackie, what is going on? I'm yet to get a straight answer out of anyone!" He said, slgihtly frustrated about the whole situation. Jackie acted as though she didn't hear him. She simply continued on fiddling with the kettle and getting the tea bags in the pot.

"Jackie!?" He persisted. She suddenly slammed her hands on the counter, her shoulders slummped and her head hung in defeat.

"That girl with you...is she the one who replaced my Rose?" she asked with such a clam that the Doctor was a little scared. She continues to stare at the counter, turning to him when she felt strong enough to look him in the eye.

"No, She didn't replace Rose! She travels with me but she is by no means a replacement!" He said, moving closer to her "You of all people should know that no-one could replace Rose" Jackie only nodded, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Jackie?" The Doctor said quietly. The smile on her face got a shadow bigger as she turned to him.

"She's sleeping Doctor, leave her till she wakes yeah? She had a hard night" The Doctor didn't mean for his left eyebrow to rise to his hairline, but it did anyway.

"What do you mean?" He ased. Jackie shook her head.

"Look the only person who can tell you the whole story is Rose. Now sit down and drink your tea!" She said ushering him over to the couch and sitting him down.

There was so many things that didn't fit for him. The Tyler family living in an emergancy bunker, the fact London was empty and there were strange looking people attacking anything that lived. When he thought about it that bit did add up but what he really didn't understand how Jackie could be so cheerful when things obviously weren't right. Maybe it was him, he thought, he had that effect on people.

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He didn't know how many hours had passed since he stepped foot in the Tyler bunker. There was no windows but the monitors showing the outside were significantly darker than they were before. Martha sat on the sofa against the wall talking to Jake about something or other, The Doctor wasn't really paying attention. Mickey was sitting playing what looked like a PSP while Jackie was rocking a baby back and forth as she drifted off to sleep. It hadn't even occured to the Doctor to ask about the newest member of the Tyler family, he'd been too wrapped up in his own selfish thoughts, if he was being honest. He made a mental note to find out more about her later, but for now he wasn't about to disturb that mother and daughter bonding that was going on before his eyes.

He suddenly heard a quiet voice say something to him.

" Doctor? Will you go and check on Rose for me?" Jackie said, a small glint in her eye and a cheeky smirk playing on her lips. The Doctor smiled a little and nodded. He may have seemed calm on the outside but inside he was terrified. What if she hated him? What if she was hurt? What would he tell her? He didn't even know how long it had been for her. It had only been about 6 months for him, meeting Martha on the 5th month.

He nudged the door open a little, making sure it didn't squeak before he went in fully. There was a dim light on in the corner that covered the room in a soft light, soft enough for Rose to sleep anyway. For a moment he wondered where on earth they were getting all their electricity from but shook his head and blocked out those thoughts. They were not what was important right now.

She was lying on the bed, still dressed in her Torchwood uniform, boots and all. Her hair was messy and matted in the areas where mud had dried but the most distressing of all for the Doctor was the gash on her forehead that had been dripping blood down her face, landing on her pillow in a small, dark red pool. The arm covers that she normally wore in the field were thrown to the corner of the room, lying in a crumpled pile next to her belt and her gun. He never thought he'd see the day Rose used a gun, but that was her job now he guessed. Her slim fitted trousers tucked into her boots nicely, the mud and dirt from them leaving marks all over the sheets. It was funny the things you noticed, the Doctor thought, when you've never been so nervous in your life.

He was quickly pulled from his thoughts and silly observations when he heard her make a small noise, her eyes twitching together. His hearts thumping in his chest so hard it hurt as he bent down next to her and ran his hand over her cheek. Even beaten and worn, she still looked like an angel to him.

"Rose" He said, barely above a whisper. His eyes were burning as he tried to not cry and he found that his throat was starting to fail on him. She moved her head slightly while her eyes began to open to hazy vision.  
"Rose, can you hear me?" He said, his eye never leaving her face. As she focused she came to realise who the man holding her shoulders was and why he was so familiar.

"You're not real" She said quietly, her eyes stating to well up "I'm still sleeping, or worse, i'm delusional!" she said raising her hand to touch his cheek but quickly pulling back when his stubble felt rough against her skin.

"I'm real, i'm very real. I found a way to get here" He said matching her volume and tone exactly. Gently he held her bruised wrist and brought her hands to his face. "See? You can touch me this time and everything!" Rose let out a surprised and perplexed laugh, he thumbs stroking his face and her eyes never leaving is.

"I..I can't...I don't know.." She stuttered at a loss for words untill she couldn't take it anymore. She lept forward and wrapped her arms around him taking in every inch of him that she could. Feeling that he was real. His body, his hair, his scent. The hug was fierce, both of them needing reassuance that it wasn't going to end anytime soon.

"You...you said I cold never see you again" She sniffed, tears making trails down her dirty face. He gave her a tearful smile.

"I also told you never say never ever. I tried for so long to try and reach you without destroying everything but...I couldn't find a way. Then this morning, at least I think it was...anyway the Tardis got this radio transmission from Mickey just asking for someone or anyone to help. So I tried to find a way and I did. A black hole. You were right by the way, they are gateways!" he said with that smile that could bowl Rose over in a heartbeat.

"I missed you so much!" She sobbed into his shoulder while his own tears made a trail down his face. He Squeezed her tighter, trying to get her as close to himself as possible. "Did you miss me Doctor?" She said, muffled by his chest.

"Oh my God Rose, You have no idea..."

After a while he pondered the two of them going back throuh to the family but he thought against it. This was all that was important right now.

--Bloody heck I made that a long one! I could have done it in two but I wanted that whole segement done so that you can all read while I do the next bit! I hope you all enjoyed and pleaser review!!--


	3. We've got some bad news

-- Well hello to all those who are reading and enjoying! My uni exams are over to I have a little more time on my hands now (Yay!) thanks for the reviews and keep em coming! --

Disclaimer: You all know I don't own either of them and i'm making no cash. I'm mixing it up for fun!

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"They've been in there an awful long time" Martha commented, sitting on the sofa beside Jake with her fourth cup of tea. Mickey scoffed and gave her an odd smile.

"Well be fair, they've not seen each other in almost three years! Plus it wasn't like it was the easiest goodbye, they have a lot to catch up on" He said. Martha nodded and suddenly had a very keen interest of the mug in her hand. Mickey looked her over, noticing that she was very nervous.

"How long was it? For the Doctor I mean.." he said quiety as he moved Jake to the other sofa so he could sit next to her. Martha shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I think it was about 6 months but he never liked to speak about how long it was. If he mentioned Rose it was always about the fun things they did together. I think it hurt him too much" She said quietly.

"I know exactly what you mean.." He said. Martha turned her body so she was facing him.

"Where do you fit in? In all this?" Mickey gave a short chuckle that took Martha by surprise.

"To put it short, I was Rose's boyfriend. Untill she met the Doctor that is. Eventually I traveled with them for a while and I noticed everything that they didnt. All the glances, the little touches, the concerned look on his face everytime she looked the slightest bit unhappy. I left them for this world when the parallel me died here, but I came back to help against the Cybermen in the Battle of Canary Warf. Thats when they lost each other..." He said. Martha thought she could hear his voice catch in his throat but she decided not to read anymore into it.

"Wow, you must have been through a lot with them" She said with a sad smile that Mickey returned. "How did Rose cope?"

"She didn't for a while. She spent all the time crying in her room, holding onto anything she had on her person that reminded her of him. Untill one day, her dad asked if she wanted to help with this universes Torchwood. Peter Tyler is the second in command of Torchwood and runs all there forces. So one day we were sitting, having breakfast like everyday, she came down and sat with us. Soon after she trained along with me and Jake and Jack to join the Alpha team. First defence for planet earth...a year and a half later, this happens."

Martha sat, completely bewitched by Mickey's story. For some reason she had never thought about thinking about Rose's point of view. Never thought it would hurt Rose as much as it did. She didn't know how long she could hide her jelously for the ex companion, not only was she brave a fearless when she was with the Doctor but now apparently she was Brave and fearless in this world too. It made Martha feel more than a little inadequate.

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She didn't have long to sit and dwell on her own faults. The door to the sleeping area was opened and the reunited couple were walking back through, their faces light and happy.

"Morning everyone" Rose said, a sleepy drawl still behind her voice. Everyone smiled at her, everyone but Martha who sat with a straight face on the sofa.

"Morning? Rose it's 7pm!" Exclaimed Mickey. Rose threw herself down on the three seater next to Jackie, the Doctor falling next to her and his arm automatically going around Rose's shoulders while Martha hoped that no-one noticed her face screw up for a moment.

"Rose! For heavens sake you didn't even bother to wash the blood off your face!" Jackie said, quickly passing Rose's younger sister to Jake then going and getting a damp cloth.

"Well it wasn't exactly my highest priority when I got in was it?" Rose said with a hint of annoyance as her mother grabbed her face and started wiping off the dried blood and dirt. The Doctor couldn't help but giggle at the look on Rose's face

"How did this happen anyway sweetheart?" Rose shrugged.

"I don't know, piece of flying rock or building when something got blown up. It happens all the time Mum!" She said, getting exasperated by her mother buzzing around her like she was 12.

"Well it shouldn't happen! We shouldn't even be in here! We should be in our house where I can look after my children properly! Where...we can be an actual family and not just people living underground praying for an answer!" She shouted, suddenly rising to her feet and pacing back and fourth. Only the second time a number of hours that Jackie Tyler had lost her nerve, something that the Doctor was surprised about. It was amazing how strong someone could be in an extreme situation.

"I'm sorry" Jackie said quietly sitting back down next to Rose who wrapped and arm around her Mothers shoulders. The Doctor leaned forward.

"I'm almost sorry to ask this but, Rose will you please tell me what is going on?" he said softly. Rose closed her eyes tightly and exhaled a long breath.

"It started as rioting, and right from the start we knew this was different. It was happening in small villages, market towns and then it wasn't on the TV anymore. It was in the street outside, it was coming through your windows. It was a virus, an Infection. You didn't need a Doctor to tell you that" She said with a sad smile glancing at the Doctor before continuing on "By the time they tried to evacuate the cities, it was too late. The infection was everywhere"

"What about the Government?" said a voice from the corner. For the first time Rose looked Martha in the eye.

"Theres no Government" Rose's voice was deadpan and low. Martha stood up, refusing to accept her words.

"What? Of course there is, theres always a Government. They'll be in a plane or a zeppelin somewhere!" She exclaimed. Rose suddenly felt a hot anger running through her veins. Who was this girl coming into her world, a world the Rose had seen crumble with her own eyes. Who was she to tell Rose what was going on. Rose stood up and slowly walked towards Martha, who despite her defiant appearence was starting to wish she had just kept her mouth shut.

"Theres nothing! No police, No Government, No Army. The last broadcasts told us of a reported outbreak in New York and Paris. There was radio darkness after that" She said between gritted teeth. It was bad enough that this girl was apparently trying to 'heal' her Doctor, it was worse that she was now trying to tell Rose what was going on.

"Ladies, this is not the time to argue!" The Doctor said, leaping off the sofa and sitting the two of them down on different sofas. The Doctor sat in a contemplative silence before standing up and pacing infront of the bunker inhabitants.

"Alright, what we can do is get you all on the Tardis, theres room for all of you and we can take you back to the other earth." He said. Jackie stood up.

"But what about my home here? Pete's job? Doctor we made a life for ourselves here and I don't know if I'm ready to leave it!" The Doctor held Jackie's shoulders gently and looked her in the eye.

"Jackie, this world is done for and will never be the same. Think about your family, we can go into the house and pack as much as you want to take and get it in the Tardis. I can provide you with as much money as you'll ever need!" He said. Jackie looked down, tears running down her face.

"I'm not going anywhere without Pete!" She said. The Doctor looked around him as if Pete was just going to appear out of thin air.

"Where is Pete actually?"

"He was stationed at a blockade just outside Manchester" said Mickey, after a long silence. The Doctor nodded and then with a new burst of energy started walking around the room. Rose had missed his energy, she forgot how infectious it was.

"Alright, New plan! We go and get supplies from the house, get back to the Tardis, we go and get Pete and then we get everyone back to the other earth in time for tea. Sound good?" Jackie grinned and hugged him, kissing his cheek as she did it.

"We'll go into the house first thing tomorrow. We don't move in the dark unless we really have to" Mickey said, also getting up and leaving the room. Rose sat speechless while Martha, who felt a little more than uncomfortable, made her way to what seemed like a bathroom. The Doctor sat down beside Rose.

"Your so different" He said suddenly. She didn't look at him, she just blinked at the floor.

"This is all an illusion Doctor, smoke and mirrors. Under it all, i'm just a scared little girl who wants to go home" The Doctor put his arm around her, the side of his head leaning on hers.

"You'll be home soon and I'm never letting you go again" He said, pressing a kiss to her head while she leaned in against him. So wrapped up in each other, no-one noticed the light crying that was coming from the bathroom.

--Well there we go, we all finally know whats going on (Although if you've seen the film you'll have a rough idea whats to come :) ) Hope you're all enjoying! Reviews make me smile --


	4. Help of the helpless, O abide with me

--Hey all! I think this fic is going quite well but it's easy when you're doing something you enjoy (makes a crackin' change from studying!) --

Thanks to everyone who has given a review! I love them!

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For the first time in 28 nights, Rose Tyler was sound asleep. For all she knew, there was no infection, no death and no bunker. She lay sound against the Doctors chest on the three seater couch, his massive brown coat spread over the two of them and his arms wrapped around her. At that moment in time, for Rose, the only thing the mattered was that the Doctor was there and she was in his arms. The Doctor however was not asleep. He lay wide awake, his eyes staring off into space as he thought about the last 24 hours. Mickey and Jake were getting ready to take Jackie into the house so she could grab things she thought she might need so she could bring it aboard the Tardis while Marta, Well he didn't really know where Martha had gone. If he was honest with himself he wasn't paying much attention to Martha. It's not that he meant to ignore is current companion but, well, it wasn't everyday you went to an alternate reality only to find it almost wiped out by a deadly infection then to find thet your ex-companion is a member of Torchwood's special forces. There was a creaking sound as one of the doors were pushed open and Martha walked through, sitting herself down on the two seater sofa against the wall.

"Hi Martha" The Doctor said quietly so as not to wake Rose. Martha was glad he pretty much had the back of his head to her because it meant he wouldn't be able to see the disgusted look that fell upon her face when he stroked Rose's arm.

"Hi Doctor" She began, she wasn't sure how to go about the next sentence. Almost every part of her was screaming that she shouldn't say what she was about to but that stubborn, selfish little bit of her was what was speaking now. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" The Doctor raised and eyebrow and turned his body as gently as he could so that Martha could see his face.

"Is what a good idea?" he asked, not understanding Martha in the slightest. Martha took a deep breath and then exhaled just as hard.

"I mean, is it really a good idea to bring all these people on board the Tardis...I mean, will the Tardis mind?" The Doctor let out a laugh out at the disbelief of Martha's comment.

"Of course she won't mind! The Tardis loves Rose to pieces, and she'll be happy to take her away from all of this" Martha was starting to get impatient, desperate to ask the burning question.

"What will happen when this is over? I mean when we get back to our universe" The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not getting what you mean Martha..."

"I mean will Rose be coming with us?" The Doctor looked back down at Rose, who still seemed to be fast asleep against the Doctor.

"I don't know, I'd like her to...I'd love her to infact but...its up to her really" he said quietly. Martha looked at her feet and sighed.

"Alright Doctor..I was just wondering thats all"

------------------------------

A few hours later and everyone was ready to go, The hummer was packed with the Familys things and they were ready to set off. Martha, Jackie, Baby Lilly and Jake all Climbed in first, Mickey, Rose and the Doctor following behind.

"Goodbye house" Rose whispered, feeling a little bit like a 5 year old leaving her first home. The Doctor put his arm around her and kissed her head and she leaned into him.

There was a strange tension in the truck, between all the passengers. No-one dared look at each other, eyes focusing on the outside world, or a pair of boots, or a door handle. The Doctor had his vision focused on something on the side of Rose's gun, a silver engraved plate that read 'Bad Wolf' across it.

"Whats that?" He said quietly, nodding down to it. Rose followed his vision.

"It's my gun, I have to have it. It's torchwood issue." She said. He shook his head a bit then pointed properly to the silver plate.

"No, that. The silver plate thing" Rose smiled a little bit.

"It's our field names. I chose Bad Wolf for obvious reasons. You'll never guess what Mickey's is" She said, the first time the Doctor had seen Rose's cheeky smile since they had been reunited. The Doctor grinned and shook his head.

"Tin Dog" came a slightly huffy voice, causing the Rose to giggle. The Doctor felt a bit of relief at hearing her laugh, it showed him that working for Torchwood hadn't hardened her completely and she was still the Rose he fell for under it all.

"Tin Dog, Thats ironic since I certainly don't see a tin dog sitting infront of me" The Doctor said with a smile that Mickey returned. That was the last thing said the entire journey.

-----------------------------

It was exactly as she remembered it. The blue wood doors on the outside, the relaxing orange glow on the inside plus the whirring of the engines that never failed to relax her. Rose was completely oblivious to the rushing around that her Mother, Jake and Mickey were doing. She didn't even notice The Doctor at the console and Martha slide in and sulk off to her room. She just walked around, occasionally stroking bits of the wall. She'd forgotten how much she'd missed the Tardis. She didn't even notice the Doctor come up behind her.

"Welcome home" he said quietly into her ear, making her jump a little bit. She turned around and threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Thank you so much Doctor" She said, her tears falling on her bare neck making him shiver. Suddenly they heard Jackie scream as a mass swarm of infected were running towards them.

"Quick Mum Shut the door!" Rose screamed, as Jackie stood frozen with fear. Rose ran over and pulled her Mum in, ignoaring the high pitched, blood curdling screams that were getting louder. Rose closed the door and leant against it, trying to keep the terror from her face as the door was rocked by the infected trying to get in.

"Doctor we better get a move on!" Jake exclaimed as the hammering got louder and Rose screwed her eyes shut. As the whirring of the engines started and the hammering on the door against Rose's back subsided, Rose letting out an exaggerated breath.

"Right, Manchester. Here we go!" The Doctor exclaimed. Jackie grabbed his wrist before he could pull the handle to set the course through the vortex.

"Wait, Doctor" she said, not bothering to look up at him. She just stared ahead.

"What?" Jackie swallowed hard, tears forming in her eyes.

"It's just that...what if there's no-one there? What if we go and we can't find him?" The Doctor didn't know how to answer. To be honest he wasn't sure what they would do. He knew for a fact Jackie wouldn't leave without her husband, even if he was dead. He was taken from his thoughts when he felt a light tugging on his sleave.

"Doctor? We're going to find him right?"

"Lets...lets just wait and see what we find. Alright?" Jackie nodded slowly, not saying a word. After a year she had finally settled down, her family was whole again. A secure, safe place to live with her husband and two daughters. It was so unfair that once again, she was going to be ripped away from it all. It was just wrong, the Doctor thought. Thats when he made a promise to himself, a promise not only to get everyone out and safe, Including Pete Tyler. But also a promise to help protect their way of life, that is, when they finally got one back.

--------------------------------

She let the hot water hit her aching shoulders hard. Slowly she began to wash the dirt and blood away. She began to scrub at her skin, not caring if it was turning red or not. She felt that the stinging of the water on her red raw skin helped ease her mind a little. Only a little. Her skin wasn't the problem, skin can be washed. The smell of burning corpse and blood and smoke can be sent down the plug hole along with the soap and water that removed it. But in her mind, she saw the most terrible things. A young boy, only the age of five that she had to kill because he was infected and at Torchwood she had always been taught that it was kill or be killed. She had been to Paddington Station the day of the rush, when the infection really started to take over. She had seen the bodies get trampled and crushed.

She pulled open the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. Standing infront of the skin, she looking into the mirror at her clean face then reached up to her own cheek. What had she become? Was she a mindless killer with such a Pragmatic view on life? It had never been this way with the Doctor, The man who always tried to help people with as little hard to anything and anyone as possible. Her mothers words came to her head.

_"It's hard, being left and eventually thats what you become. Hard" _

Rose fell back and leaned against the wall, hugging her knees. For the first time, she cried. Not for the little boy. Not for all those killed at Paddington. Not even for her family. For the first time, she cried for herself and what she was afraid she had become.

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-- Theres another chapter down! I'm going to start making all chapters about this legth so I can update as often as I can for you lovely people! To be honest i'm not completely happy with this chapter but its a very transitional part in the story so not much happens. The next one will be better I promise! --


	5. The Trick is to Keep Breathing

--I just want to say thanks to all those who gave a review and i'm really pleased you're enjoying my little experiment here! --

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There was a soft knock at her door a few hours later, a few hours after she had dragged herself off the bathroom floor and to her old room. The knock came again but a little harder this time.

"Come in" Rose said, slightly annoyed. It wasn't who she expected. Martha came in quietly and closed the door behind her. Suddenly feeling very awkward, Rose turned to her bed so she wouldn't have to look Martha in the eye.

"I..I just came to check if you were alright?" Martha began, her voice shaking slightly from nerves. Rose took a deep breath and turned around to face the dark skinned woman.

"yeah..I'm fine thanks" Her voice was barely above a whisper and she hoped Martha would take that answer at face value and leave. But she didn't. Martha walked a little further into the room.

"I don't think you are...You don't seem alright" Rose sat down on the edge of her old bed and stared at Martha.

"And how do you know? You've known me a whole 24 hours and hardly said more than 6 words to me" Rose said, her voice colder than she intended it to be. Rose suddenly regretted her tone and her face softened. "I'm sorry, I just...I'm a little overwhelmed..."

"I'm not going to pretend to understand what you've been through" She began, her voice reluctant to come out. "And I know that you're not fond of me..." Rose's eyes suddenly got very wide and she began to try and deny Martha's claims.

" I'm not wanting to get into a big discussion about our...Situation. But I think if we're all going to get through this we need to work together, this tension can't last!" Martha said. After a few moments Rose smiled softly.

"Now, lets go get a cup of tea. I think we all need one!"

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5 people stepped out of the Tardis and the Doctor for a moment thought he should pray that all 5 of them step back in. The Tardis had landed 6 miles west of where they were trying to go, the Tardis refusing to go any further due to danger. They found themselves surrounded by forrest, a ruined castle near by. Jake sniffed the air and looked around him.

"Whats that smell?" he said. Rose spotted a hill and decided to quickly run up it to try and find out where the smell was coming from. It smelled like charred wood, twisted metal and burning bodies. From her spot at the top of the hill she looked down onto Manchester. Or at least what was left of it.

"What is it Rose? What can you see?" Shouted Mickey. For a moment, Rose thought her voice wouldn't be found.

"It's Manchester" She shouted, her voice getting thick trying to hold back tears. Mickey raised and eyebrow.

"What does that mean?" Rose sighed.

"I mean It's MANCHESTER! The whole city is burning!" The rest of the groud suddenly sprinted towards Rose's position, each looking on at the burning city in horror. You couldn't make out the buildings. All you could see was smoke and flame, a whole history litterally going up in smoke.

"No fire fighters to put it out. So it'll just keep on burning" The Doctor said quietly. His gaze fell over Rose, watching how she just stared ahead at the city with such a calm, blank look on her face. He'd only seen that look once before and that was on Bad Wolf Bay.

"Come on, We're wasting time" The Doctor said quietly, his hands on Rose's and Jackie's shoulder. As everyone moved away the Doctor gave the burning city one last look.

"I'm sorry, i'm so sorry"

---------------------------------

Martha didn't know how long they had been walking for, all she knew was that her legs were getting tired and it was starting to get a little dark.

"Doctor? Don't you think we should stop for a little bit? It's getting late!" Martha shouted at the Doctor who was ahead of the group. He spun around.

"Well I..umm...I don't know.."

"I think Martha's right, we shouldn't travel in the dark plus the rest will do us some good" Rose said, cutting off the Doctor's sentence and giving Martha a smile that was returned. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine. Since this seems to be the safest place then we'll camp out here" He took his jacket off and sprawled it on the grass while Mickey and Jake got supplies out of their bags. Rose and Martha sat down next to each other, both grabbing at Mickey's bag to grab some food.

"I'm starving! I never thought I'd get sick of chocolate mind!" Rose said, picking up a dairy milk and then putting it back in the bag then grinning as she picked up a little blue box. "Now chocolate orange is a completely different thing!" Suddenly Rose felt Dizzy and fell back a little.

"Here, take these. Your body is starting to crash since you've been running on sugar. You don't need more chocolate you need a good sleep!" Martha said, taking the Chocolate orange from Rose and handing her pain killers. Rose looked longingly at the sweet as Martha put it back in the bag.

"Don't worry, I promise you'll get it when we sort all this out" She said softly, placing a comforting hand on Rose's shoulder. Rose smiled.

"Thanks Martha" Rose said, Sleepily as her eyes started to slowly shut.

"Sleep well Rose, we'll all be here in the morning" Martha said to her sleeping companion.

"Look at that!" Jake exclaimed pointing into the distance at a field. In the field there was a pack of horses running around, playing with each other. The Doctor joined Jake with a thoughtful smile. "Do you think their infected Doctor?"

"No, No I think they're simply enjoying themselves. Completely oblivious to the world around them, all thats important is the family around them" The Doctor said quietly, he turned his line of vision back over to Rose who was currently being watched by Mickey. Martha walked up beside him.

"I can see why you like her" she said quietly. The Doctor didn't turn to look at her, he kept looking straight ahead. "She's a very special person, I can tell that straight away"

"I'm glad you like her" The Doctor said quietly. Martha looked at her boots then back ahead of her. "Do you still love her Doctor?" The air had suddenly turned very and Martha was wondering if she'd crossed a line. The Doctor was silent for a moment and he scratched at the back of his neck. Martha turned and smiled at him.

"Yes, Yes I do"

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-- I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to update! I've been having a very hard time in uni and at work so I've not had as much free time but I WILL NOT give up on this story! I wasn't really into this chapter since its a very trasitional part but the next chapters will be very much action packed! --


	6. Snakes in the Grass

-- No comments, I've said it all before! Straight into the story --

After miles of walking and finding nothing but a few dead bodies along the way, the group came across what looked like an army blockade.

"This is the place" Mickey said, a triumphant smile on his face. Rose scowled as she looked around her destroyed and decaying surroundings. There were vans tipped over, stray guns lying around and a strange atmosphere that Rose didn't like.

"I don't like this, I think we should go!" Mickey ignored her and continued to look around. Rose sighed in exasperation, The Doctor sharing her feelings.

"Mickey, Rose is right. I don't think this is a good idea. We should get back to the Tardis and try somewhere else for Pete." Mickey spun around and glared at him.

"Look just because you're back with your precious Tardis doesn't mean you can run things here now we stay" Mickey shouted causing Rose to storm up to him. She was standing hardly an inch away from him; her teeth bore dangerously making everyone slightly uncomfortable.

"Mickey Smith you will stand down or as your commanding officer I will force you to!" She shouted, finally at the end of her patience. Mickey had the grace to look sheepish and he bowed his head.

"Sorry commander. Rose. I'm just a little bit stressed, I mean what now?" Rose shook her head.

"Look I don't know but shouting at friends is not going to help! Look everyone have a look around and see if you can find something then come back here alright?" Everyone nodded and began to slowly shuffle around the place.

"This is complete bullshit!" Jake exclaimed. A crow on the top of one of the metal barricade fences started to screech and whine, giving Jake a sore head. "You can shut up!" but the crow didn't stop. He just kept on screeching and whining, making Jake twitch. "I said SHUT UP!" he shouted, kicking the fence and looking up at the crow. He didn't know why the crow was sitting there, he didn't see the piece of dead body the crow was chewing and ripping. He felt the horrible drop of cold blood as it hit his eye, making him blink quickly and fall back.

"Jake, are you alright?" Rose asked. Jake looked up.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Rose, you're still the same person and don't forget that" he said. Rose smiled and gave a short, confused laugh.

"Thanks, Jake are you sure you're ok?"

"Stay back Rose! Just stay back!" Rose was taken aback and tried to go over to him, causing Jake to grab her shoulders and push her backwards. "I said stay back!" The Doctor, Martha and Mickey on hearing the noise came running to see what was going on. Jake began to twitch and stretch around, groaning and screeching like a wild animal.

"He's infected!" Martha shouted "Rose you have to shoot him!"

Rose stood frozen. Her companion, her team mate and her friend. Another one, infected. She couldn't bring herself to shoot. Suddenly, out of no where a rain of bullets hit Jakes body causing him to fall limp to the floor.

"Stay away from the body! Leave him!" Came a voice. As Rose looked up she could see 4 men dressed in Torchwood issue camo. Then it clicked, this wasn't the real base and they had found what was left of the Bravo team.

-----------------------------------

"Welcome, Welcome!" said a man that Rose assumed to be the Bravo teams commanding officer. "I'm Commander Henry West. Well we have beds with fresh sheets and a boiler for hot water so you can all have a shower; you look like you need one." His attention turned to Rose.

"Well, Rose Tyler. Commander of the Alpha team. Somehow I knew _you _would survive Miss Tyler, you always do. Where is the rest of your team?" He said. Rose started at him, as if to say 'You fucking know where'.

"Ah right, well. Who are your friends?" He said. The Doctor stepped forward, he didn't know why but he had taken to complete dislike to the man in under a minute of meeting him. He was tall and slim but quite built at the same time. There was something arrogant about the way he was acting.

"I'm the Doctor" he said, standing his full height with a look of disdain across his features. Martha stood near him along with Mickey.

"And I'm Martha"

"And I'm Mickey, Alpha team" He said proudly while holding his gun close to his chest. West smiled a patronizing smile.

"Well, as I said welcome. Make you at home" He said, Rose stopped him before he could walk into the house.  
"Peter Tyler, where is he?" She said. West smiled that ghost of a smile that the Doctor didn't like.

"He's in the house. We didn't want to compromise the safety of the head of Torchwood" Rose nodded before making her way into the house, followed by her companions.

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"We must be a disappointment to you" West said to Rose was they sat on the stairs in the back garden of the mansion. Rose didn't know what he meant. "You were expecting a huge army base with choppers and a hospital tent. You were expecting the answer to infection." he said simply.

"I don't know what I was expecting, hope maybe. How did you end up here?" She asked as the Doctor walked outside and sat next to her, interested to hear West's story.

"My team were driven out Manchester when we realized there was no hope for the city. We found this house completely empty so we decided to take it over. There is a high wall around the entire estate, flood lights, an alarm for when the first defense is compromised and the lawn is rigged with trip wires and land mines. You wouldn't want to mow the lawn but if they get in we hear them" He said with a smile. The Doctor nodded.

"How long have you been here for then?" He said. West smiled that horrible smile.  
"About two weeks. You were very lucky to get here; the surrounding areas are saturated with the infected that are being driven out of the city by the fires. You were very lucky indeed but come, let me show you around the rest of the house" he said. Rose shook her head.  
"I'm going to go see my dad, Doctor you go look. I'll do it later" She said standing up and walking back into the house. The Doctor stood up and was lead by West.

"This is Jones, our resident can opener!" He exclaimed pointing into the kitchen to a skinny man wearing a pink apron over his uniform "What's on the menu tonight Jones?" The man grinned.

"It's a surprise sir!" He said in a heavy cockney accent. They continued along a corridor lit by candles.

"This is where we plan to start re-building. We have a log burner boiler for hot water, the first steps towards civilization" He said, opening a door to a small back part of the house surrounded by a tall walkway. "And this, this is Miller!"

Suddenly an infected screamed and ran at them from behind the washing that was hanging up only to be stopped in its tracks and pulled back by a chain around its neck.

"Matthews became infected a few days ago but one of my men managed to knock him out and get a chain around his neck" The Doctor looked on horrified as the former man twisted and rigged on the floor, every so often vomiting blood.

"You're keeping him alive! That's horrific!" he exclaimed. West smiled.

"The idea is that he will teach us about the infection" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"And has it?!"

"In a way. He's telling me he'll never bake bread, never farm crops or raise livestock. He's telling me he has no future and eventually, he'll tell me how long it will take for the infected to starve to death" He said. The Doctor couldn't move, he had never seen something so barbaric in his life and he'd seen a lot of things.

"So instead of letting your man die with dignity you're going to chain him up like a dog until he starves to death?" The Doctor had decided he really didn't like this man now, all he wanted to do was to get Pete and get the hell out.

"It's kill or be killed Doctor, and we here feel we have a duty to the world to find out when this hell might possibly end"

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The dining room was full of candles, creating a soft warm glow around the table. Across the whole left hand side sat The Doctor, Rose, Pete, Martha and Mickey. Along the rest of the table sat the soldiers from the Bravo team while West sat at the head of the table in his dress uniform.

"Well, Tinned ham, tinned peas, tinned meat balls and..." he paused viewing the silver platter in the middle of the table. He pulled off the lid.

"Omlette! You've created a feast Jones!" He exclaimed while the other soldiers made impressed sounds. "I was going to give a toast but this omelet will do just as well" He picked up his fork and pulled a bit of the omelet off and lifted it up "To new friends" He put the omelet in his mouth, a sudden rancid taste hitting his tongue. He spat it out onto his plate.

"Jones, did you notice that these eggs were off?"

"I thought the salt might cover the taste..." the quivering soldier said, looking sheepish.

"Get rid of it!"

"Can't believe it! When I saw those eggs I thought it was Christmas" said the soldier wearing a rather silly sheep skin hat. The soldier next to him scoffed.

"Ah don't worry; we'll have eggs again when things go back to normal"

"Auw come on! You're still waiting for Marks and Spencer to re-open!?"

"If you think about the full life of the planet, human beings have only been here for the blink of an eye so technically if this virus, infection, wipes out the human race that is going back to normality" Said the sergeant sitting across from Pete. The Doctor smiled, impressed by the train of thought.

"I like the way you think" the Doctor said simply. The sergeant didn't smile but he did nod in appreciation.

"Have you met our new age sergeant? Tell me Matthews, why did you join the army?" West said. Matthews sat in silence. "Let me tell you what I've seen in the 4 weeks since infection; People killing people. The 4 weeks before; People killing people. And the 4 weeks before that and the 4 weeks before that. Nothing has changed"

A thick silence fell over the table. No-one knowing what to say after such a comment. Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of an air raid siren that filled the whole house. All the soldiers leapt to their feet and started shouting about some infected that had broken through the borders. Land mines could be heard going off as the soldiers got to their places behind the massive guns on the top of the walls around the house, mowing down the bodies that were running towards them in the dark.

"You see...People killing people" West said in a grin voice as he left the room.

---------------------------------------

Rose and Martha watched by the door as the alarm died down and the soldier slowly stumbled back in. one of them began walking towards Rose and Martha, A horrible swagger that screamed out 'I'm a prick'.

"Don't worry sweet heart! You got a big strong man like me around now to look after you and I mean Big!" He exclaimed attempting to put his arm around Rose's waist. Rose sneered and tried to push him off but his grip remained tight.

"Let her go!" shouted Matthews suddenly, dashing towards the other man and pulling him off. Rose and Martha took two huge steps back away from the brawl that had broken out.

"MATTHEWS!" Came a shout from down the hall. West was marching towards them with his face like thunder. "What is the meaning of this?"

Matthews looked down, a scowl across his features.

"I'm sorry sir but I couldn't allow that kind of behavior!" he exclaimed. West's stare bore into the man and then he turned to the other men.

"Well? First protocols men? Clean the bodies off the lawn reset the alarms and re-fill the guns! Go Now!" He barked sending the men scattering out into the night. West turned to Martha and Rose who stood quivering next to each other while the Doctor, Pete and Mickey stood growling at West.

"Ladies, I can only apologize for my men's behavior, please, go and relax upstairs" His attention turned to the Doctor "Doctor, I would like to speak with you alone in the study" The Doctor nodded but didn't say anything, his jaw set tight. Rose began to make her way up the stairs, her father close to her side to prevent her from shaking.

--------------------------------

The study had a golden glow from the raging fire that was burning in the fireplace. There was a stale smell that invaded the Doctors nostrils as the door closed behind him. West walked over to the desk at the side of the room, pouring himself a strong drink, oily swirls marking the glass tumbler. West stood across from the Doctor.

"Tell me Doctor, who have you killed?" He said, so flippantly he may as well have been asking what conditioner he used. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't be alive if you hadn't killed someone, so who have you killed?" The Doctor gave a short harsh laugh.

"There are other ways to do things. I haven't killed anyone" West took a long hard gulp of his whiskey. After a pause he sat down and sighed.

"Last week, one of my men put a gun to his head saying he was going to kill himself…because all hope was lost. He said that even if we survived there was no-one left and there was no point." The Doctor ran his hand through his hair.

"That's very sad indeed but what does that have to do with what happened…"

"I promised them women" The Doctor couldn't believe his ears.

"What? You….promised them what?" West stood up.

"I promised them hope. I sent out a radio signal in a hope that people would try and find us….and I promised them women"

It took only a second for the information to sink in, the Doctors eyes growing wide as he sprinted from the study, leaving West with his feet on the desk finishing his drink.

"Rose! Rose! Martha! Mickey! We need to leave NOW!" He screamed as he ran into the lobby of the great house, preparing to dash up the stairs to collect his friends and leave. Suddenly his face connected with something solid and he found himself looking up at the ceiling of the lobby, a warmth spreading over his face. He could barely make out Matthews being surrounded by his own men and being beaten to the floor. His body tensed as he heard Rose and Martha screaming as they were grabbed and dragged away, watching Mickey being racked with bullets and falling to the floor in a pool of crimson blood while Pete was beaten down and lying next to him. The last thing he saw was West standing over him.

"I want to give you a chance Doctor, You can be with us but it's your choice"

-- So sorry it's taken ages to update but my internet has been off and I've not had a chance to get back on! But I'm back now! Enjoy! --


	7. And In The Darkness Bind Them

It took a while for his vision to come into focus but when it did, The Doctor discovered he was in the basement of the house. It was damp and dirty, the smell of condensation seeping into his nostrils and mouth, almost making him choke. Turning his head he could see Pete next to him, light from the windows near the ceiling falling on the mans face.

"Where are we?" The Doctor muttered, his speech slightly slurred. Pete looked around him.

"I think we're in the lower pantry in the west of the house" The Docotr nodded. Pete seemed about right. The Doctor suddenly realised that it wasn't just himself and Pete in the room. Matthews had also been placed with them and was now muttering random things about the infection. The Doctor turned to him.

"Umm...Scuse me, but...Can you tell me whats going on?" He said, trying to be as light as possible so as not to completely break the man completely.

"'Theres no infection just peoplen killing people' That man is insane!" Matthews exclaimed. He turned to the Doctor and Pete with a sigh. "We were blocked off from the rest of the world, the little diseased island. His plan to try and 'repopulate' isn't needed. He's gone mad! There is no worldwide infection!" The Doctor nodded.

"So how did it get into Britain?" Matthews sighed.

"It came from a lab in Torchwood, London. They have labs where they work on alien genes and...one night...there was a break in. Some stupid animal rights students let out one of the primates that was infected and we think it bit some of the students and that set off the chain of events over the past month.." The Doctor frowned.

"Pete?! Head of Torchwood and you were letting this go on?!" Pete started shaking his head and waving his hands around.

"No NO! You don't understand, i'm not head of science. I'm head of everything but! Thats a completely different area and I have no power!" The Doctor looked grave. Without warning the door was suddenly thrown open and Jones and the Soldier with the silly hat walked through, pointing guns at the two men and the alien against the wall.

"Time to go boys..." The Doctor suddenly leapt to his feet.

"Where's Rose?!" The Soldier laughed.

"The cute blonde? She and her friend are getting dressed. See major West wants them to get all dressed up for us. I'll be seeing her when I get back" he said with a sick smile making the Doctor see red.

"If you touch her I swear..."  
"You won't be able to do a thing mate! Believe me, Now, MOVE IT!"

----------------------------------------------------------------

The two girls sat next to each other on the bed in the master bedroom, both shivering, hand in hand. Rose's head snapped around to the window as she heard the ringing of gun shots in the distance. Martha's hand tightened around hers.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, suddenly very aware that her question wasn't the smartest. Martha smiled and looked down at the floor.

"Nope. You?" Rose smiled. In spite of what she initially thought of Martha, she had grown to respect and like the girl despite her jelousy.

"Nope" They sat in silence for a moment. Rain starting to batter off the windows. Martha gave Rose a once over.

"You really love him don't you?" Rose let out a long sigh.

"Yeah...yeah I do. You know, when I woke up and he was there...for a moment I felt like myself again, you know, the old me." Martha squeezed her hand.

"He does that doesn't he?"

"You love him too" Martha almost began to protest but was cut off by Rose "I don't mind, I'm happy that there was someone to keep him company, I never wanted him to be alone" she said with a sad smile.

"He never stopped thinking of you" Martha said sadly "Theres a picture of the two of you, in Barcelona I think, and he keeps it in the control room. I remember once I took it down because it was in the way of a screen...he went completely postal" Rose smiled a little "I didn't understand why he got so mad but..seeing you two together...I do now" Rose didn't say anything but was touched by Martha's words. She didn't want to admit how afraid she was. Since she came to this world she had been pushing fear down into the pit of her stomach, refusing to let anyone see her weak but now that the Doctor was back, she didn't feel like she had to be so invulnrable anymore. The door burst open and three soldiers swaggered in, two of them making a bee line for Rose and Martha, grabbing them roughly by the shoulders and dragging them towards the wardrobe while the other soldier pulled out fine dresses.

"Come on! These are expensive dressed sweetheart, any girl would be lucky to dress up for us!" The soldier holding Rose shouted as he ripped her white tee off. Screaming she shoved him back, desperate to get to Martha. Suddenly she threw herself at the man, pressing her lips against his in a violent and bitter kiss. She then held him by the coller.

"Look, if you want us to get dressed nice then you'll leave the room ok? All of you?" The soldier smirked and looked at his companions and nodded.

"Alright boys lets 'leave the room'" He said sarcastically. Rose dashed to the sink as soon as she heard the door close and grabbed a bottle of pills, pouring out two as she went to Martha.

"Ok, quickly take two of these!" Martha looked at Rose in horror.

"Are you...are you trying to kill me?!" Rose smiled and held Martha's face.

"No No, Whatever these men have planned I don't want to be mentally there to think about it. It's valium" Martha took the pills and quickly downed them. Suddenly one of the men ran back in and grabbed Rose from behind, sending the pills scattering across the floor.

"'Leave the room' she said, how coul we be so stupid! You two are not leaving our sight again!"

------------------------------------------

They had been walking for miles it seemed. All the way out the front gates and around the outer wall untill they came to a pile of dead bodies. The smell should have been warning enough but the sight was enough to make the Doctor sick. The two soldiers pointed their guns at the men.

"Is this who you're going to let your sergeant go out then eh Jones?" Matthews said, deliberatly trying to provoke the small skinny man.

"Shut up!" Jones shouted.

"You don't have the balls to do it" Matthews quipped. The soldier with the stupid hat lifted his gun.

"Shut it you! We're dealing with you in a different way sunshine!" Matthews stayed quiet for a moment, signalling with his hands for the Doctor and Pete to run for it. He nodded to Jones.

"Fuckin' Pansy"

Suddenly Jones opened fire, filling Matthews with bullets while the soldier in the hat ran over to Jones and pulled his gun from him, screaming at him for being so stupid. Meanwhile the Doctor and Pete threw themselves down into the mass of bodies, Pete doing his best not to gag at the smell. Jones scanned the area.

"Fuckin' hell! Where did they go?" He said frantically "We were suppose to get rid of them properly!" the man with the silly hat shrugged.

"Look where ever they went, they got no weapons. Their dead!" He said as they started to go in the direction of the only entrance of the gates of the house. Once they were safely out of ear shot the Doctor scrambled to his feet and grabbed Pete.

"Right what do we do?" Pete said looking at his surroundings. Nothing but forrest surrounded them other than the large wall and the pile of dead bodies.

"um...I don't know.."

"What do you mean you don't know?! You're the Doctor!"

"Yes and I believe i've said before that I make it up as I go along!" His eyes caught the alarm triggers on the top of the wall. "But I think i'm getting something..."

-----------------------------------------

The rain was beating hard now, the only sound in the room. Rose had been wrestled into a red strappy dress with a slit up to the thigh, a pair of black hotpants peaking through and her mid shin boots still on while Martha had been forced at gun point to put on a light blue, one shoulder dress with two slits on either side. The men in the room told them they were waiting for Jones and the other to come along then their 'party' could begin. Rose shuddered to think what they meant by party. The head of the men snapped around when they heard the sirens going off. The man sitting by the window with short blonde hair looked to the others.

"Jason, go check that out, we'll watch our guests!" He said. Jason huffed and picking up his gun, walked out of the room and down to the lobby where he was met by Pete Tyler who cracked him over the head with a spade sending blood across the marble floor. Pete sighed and picked up the gun and quickly ran back outside.

Martha sighed in contentment making Rose look towards her.

"I think those pills are taking effect. I don't feel sleepy I just...can't care about anything..." Rose suddenly had a thought and hopped Martha would be able to go along with it.

"They've been gone a long time..." She said to the soldier at the window. Martha suddenly caught on to Rose's idea.

"If they don't come back...will you go up a rank? Is that how it works?" Martha quipped making the other soldier laugh. They sat in silence again, a clap of thunder adding to the tension.

"I don't think they are coming back..." Rose began. The man at the window stormed over to them.

"Shut your mouth!"

"I think their dead..." Martha added, doing nothing for the mans nerves. Rose smiled a very sweet smile that certainly didn't belong in the situation they found themselves in. Rose looked the man in the eye as all the alarms went off at once.

"And I think you're next."

The one of the men grabbed Martha and Rose from the sofa and pulled them down the stairs, running towards the door only to be met by Jones and the solider in the silly hat.

"Where the fuck are you lot going?!" The one in the hat exclaimed.

"Didn't you hear the alarm?" Jones shrugged.

"Yeah we heard it and we also know it aint the infected that set em' off!" Rose's eyes widened and she looked at Martha.

"Doctor!" the soldiers had flew over her mouth.

"You shut up, everyone BACK IN THE HOUSE NOW!!!" The man with the hat screamed, shoving not only Rose and Martha but his fellow men back inside the dark house.

--------------------------------

"So what now?" Pete asked as they climbed onto the wall surrounding the small back garden. Through the limp, soaked washing the Doctor could see Miller, The man who had become infected and ended up chained like a dog.

"Right, this is risky but I'm going to set Miller free into the house he'll drive the other soldier in a frenzy and i'm hoping that will give us enough time to get Rose and Martha out" Pete frowned.

"Are you sure? We're putting Rose and Martha at a huge risk, one or both of them could be infected!" the Doctor sighed and ran his hands through his hair making it stand practically on end.

"I know its a massive chance i'm taking but Rose can certainly take care of herself and Martha isn't stupid either. We just have to take that gamble" Pete sighed and nodded slowly.

"Alright, you've never let me down before" The Doctor flashed a grin then went back to his plan.

"Now I need to somehow release that chain without going down there. I don't want to make myself a target" Pete smiled.

"Yeah, Rose only just got you back. Imagine what she'd do if you regenerated again" The Doctor shuddered and pushed the thought aside.

"The sonic screwdriver is too far away..." Suddenly Pete opened fire on the bolts on the wall holding the chain tight, the wall crumbling to peices and the chain shattering. Miller stared at the two men above him for a moment before deciding that there were better targets in the house and he ran off snarling and growling all the way.

--------------------------------

The two men and two women were in the process of being shoved roughly towards the staircase when they suddenly heard a high pitched scream and the man that was left in the bedroom ran across the lobby as fast as his legs seemed to carry him, his arms waving all the way. Suddenly and seemingly out of no-where came Miller snarling and dashing towards his target, ignoaring the quartet of people standing in the doorway, none of them quite knowing what was going on.

"Fuck! Miller got lose! Right, Jones come with me. Mark take them up stairs! We'll deal with Miller" The soldier in the silly hat shouted while the blonde grabbed Rose's arm and nudged Martha's back with his gun, forcing them in the direction that he wanted them to go in. Martha was brave but she didn't want to take the chance that she'd be shot, leaving Rose on her own. It wasn't that Rose couldn't handle herself, quite the opposite in fact but Martha didn't know if the Doctor was coming back and she wasn't happy with the situation. There was suddenly a scream and gun fire from the east of the house as the infected caught up with the three men and, from the sounds that were reaching Martha and Rose's ears, he was tearing them appart. The house wasn't safe anymore, Rose could tell that much. As they got to the long hallway there was a noise at the end, the darkness preventing them from seeing to the very end. Martha squinted to try and see who was there, her feet moving without her even realising.

"I'm going to go down there" She said softly, feeling as though she was walking through water. Her head was cloudy from the pills. Rose grabbed her arm.

"Martha No! You don't have any weapons! It's not safe!" She exclaimed, Martha turned and smiled towards her.

"Rose. Rose rose rose rose. My lovely Rose. Don't you worry, I'll be fine. We'll see each other again soon!" She said dreamily, her hand on Rose's face.

"Jesus, you're totally out of it..." Rose said, her eyebrow raised. The soldier scoffed.

"Just let her go and get herself killed! Then it'll be just you and me blondie! Little one on one party never hurt no-one!" He said, shoving a harsh kiss against her cheek. Rose felt sick as his stubble rubbed against her skin. So sick that she didn't notice Martha walk off into the darkness.


	8. I'll Live with the Dress

"Alright, So now that you've put my daughter in danger...anymore bright ideas?" Pete said as he pulled himself through the kitchen window after the Doctor. The Doctor sent him a glare before looking at his surroundings.

"Right...so we are in the...West of the building. Where would Rose and Martha be?" He said. Pete shrugged.

"I don't know, I think they'd be in the west end bedrooms" The Doctor snarrled at the word 'bedroom', Deciding it was best if he just didn't think about what would be going on.

"Right, lets go then"

----------------------

The rain was thrashing down outside now, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. As soon as West had heard the alarms, he grabbed some guns and fled the house like the coward he was. The rain was bouncing off the windscreen making it hard to see. The mud on the ground was think, grinding between the grooves in the tires making it hard for the vehicle to grip to the road. He didn't see the infected infront of the car untill he had hit it, his food slamming down on the breaks causing the car to skid and crash into the near by tree. He pulled his gun out with him, mowing down the infected that were running towards him. There was nothing for it now. If he remained out in the open, in the dark and rain there was a 90 percent chance he would be caught and killed but if he made his way back to the house, sure there was still a chance he'd be killed but it sounded better than being ripped to pieces and left to add to the ranks of the infected. To become just another face in the murderous crowd.

-----------------

The lightning was starting to freak her out. The pills she had taken were starting to come to an end and she suddenly wasn't as relaxed as she had been. She walked into the bedroom where she had heard the sound, hoping to find a friendly face and not someone who wanted to rip her heart out and show it to her. The bedroom was massive, a huge 4 poster bed in the middle with a large, free standing mirror next to the door and gigantic wardrobes along the left wall. She walked over to the wardrobes, holding her breath as she opened them, as if something might pop out. She released her breath when she realised the only violent thing in there was a bright pink and green feather boa. With a scrunched up nose she shut the wardrobe again and then made her way to the box window. Appart from the boa in the wardrobe this was the exact type of room she would have had had she been able to afford such a lifestyle. From her view she could see a tiny figure running towards the house, occasionally jumping to avoid the trip wires, she guessed. She couldn't make out who it was, the sillouette certainly didn't look like the Doctor or Pete. There was suddenly a scream from the other end of the corridor and her mind turned to Rose. The Doctor's Rose. What would he do if she was ripped away from him after only just being reunited? She suddenly felt very protective towards the blonde girl and lept to her feet, rushing towards the door.

As she reached the frame her skin began to feel cold. She could hear a ragged breathing sound from just up the hallway, and it didn't sound human. Peaking around the corner she saw the soldier in the silly hat, the only thing being, he wasn't the soldier in the silly hat anymore. He was infected. Infected and very close to her location. The end of the corridor was a dead end. No-where to run. Quickly and as silently as she could, she ran back into the room looking for a place to hid. The wardrobe would make too much noise to open and she could hear him starting to close in on her. Thinking on her feet she darted behind the free standing mirror, pulling her feet up off the ground. The door burst open and there stood the infected in the seemingly empty room. The mirror creaked as Martha pulled her arms up a little more making the infected turn to inspect where the sound came from. His face inches from the glass.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream as loud as she could for help. She wished that Rose or the Doctor or Pete would burst in all guns blazing and save her from this mess, take her back to the Tardis and never come back. Her muscles felt like they were going to burst. Her bones felt like they were going to break. With tears falling from her eyes, her hands let go, her feet falling to the floor with a thud that was masked by the sound of gunfire.

The infected was thrown across the room, smacking against the bed with the force of the machine gun. It lay in a crumpled motionless heap, Rose shooting it in the head a few more times for goos measure. Rose let out a long breath and ran towards Martha, throwing her arms around the shivering woman.

"I thought you were dead, I heard a scream and I thought it was you!" Martha exclaimed. Rose shook her head, a tear escaping.

"It was me but I wasn't dead. Got into a little fight with that soldier but it's taken care of now. I looked out and saw that infected and knew it was going to come in here. Looks like I was just in time!" Martha let out a small laugh before pulling away.

"Ok, so what now?" Rose looked around her.

"We need to find the Doctor and my Dad and get out of here! But first, I want out of this dress!" She exclaimed, pulling at the red fabric. Martha nodded.

"I agree. I'm sure theres something to fit us in this wardrobe" She said as Rose marched over and threw the doors open. Upon seeing the green and pink boa, she shut the doors again.

"I'll live with the dress..."

--------------------------

Rose paused at the top of the huge staircase, her gaze falling down to the front door and the wet, filthy figure that was stumbling through. West stopped in the middle of the lobby, his eyes trailing up and finding the two women standing side by side. He shot them a twisted grin that sent a shiver up Martha's spine.

"What a vision you are Miss Tyler, the red suits you and your name" he said, his manner off putting but Rose never dropping her gaurd.

"We know what you were going to have your men do and we're leaving!" She exclaimed, ignoaring Martha pulling on her arm and starting to walk down the stairs towards him.

"And what was that? I would give my men hope? Hope for the future, for their survival? Show them that all is not lost!?" Martha scoffed and started to walk behind Rose.

"Hope? Is that just another word for rape? Have them use us until we lost all will to live? If thats your version of hope then you are a very twisted man!" West smiled at her.

"Ah Miss Jones, lovely as always!" Martha sneered. Rose moved onto the lobby floor standing only a few meters away from West.

"Major, My friends and I are leaving. Goodbye" She said quietly and full of revulsion. West suddenly grabbed her arm and pushed her back.

"I think not Rose. You killed my men..."

"You did that yourself. Thats what you get for keeping an infected chained up, of course it was going to come loose sometime!" She exclaimed. West started walking towards her making her step back in turn.

"No Rose, by coming here you've ruined everything. All my plans for humanity..." Rose let out a bitter laugh.

"Plans! What plans? Have your men fuck us to death!? I think not!" She moved to brush past him again but was suddenly stopped by West's hand landing sharply on the left side of her face, sending her to the floor. Her vision was blurry, she could only hear the sound of the gun of off as West shot Martha in the left knee cap to prevent her from helping. Martha landed at the bottom of the staircase in a small pool of blood, an occasional cry of pain escaping her lips.

------------------------

The shot rang out through the house. The sound bouncing with ease over the dark wood walls reaching to Doctor and Pete's ears soon followed by a cry of pain. The Doctor spun looked around himself in a panic. That was certainly a womans voice he had heard.

"Where did that come from?!" Pete exclaimed. His cry fell on deaf ears. The Doctor was already sprinting in the direction of the sound.

---------------------

Rose landed on the floor again with a thud as he picked her up by the hair and smacked her across the fact again, causing a gash across her eyebrow to open and trail blood down to her jawline. Her vision was almost gone. She felt him grab her hair again, trying to focus on anything but the pain she was preparing for. Suddenly she felt a sharp jab to her ribs as a hard right hook landed on them, causing a loud crack. Once again she was dropped to the floor.

"Stop it! You're killing her!" Martha screamed in vain from the bottom of the staircase, watching as her friend was repeatedly manhandled and dropped to the floor like a rag doll. West grinned at the dark skinned woman.

"Oh Sweetheart, I've not even started!"

It was starting to hurt to breath now. Every inhale causing a sharp jab in her lungs and she was starting to wonder if the Doctor really was coming to get her.

_Doctor please...I need you..._

She sighed as she felt herself get picked up again, punched on the other side of her ribcage and then dropped hard back to the marble floor.

'Maybe I should just give up and pass out,' She thought ' It would certainly be easier than going through this, waiting for my knight in shining armour to come and rescue me. The I could be anywhere my mind put me...' It was starting to get harder to think as she felt a hard boot land in the middle of her stomach as she tried to pull herself off the ground in vain.

"Rose...Rosie? Are we feeling well? You don't look so good! What's the matter? Has the golden child of Torchwood finally fallen from her high horse?!" He exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from his words as her threw her against the bannister of the staircase. Just as she felt West's had in her hair, it was gone. She felt a hand on her face, her blurry eyes looking up not at West's cruel and twisted features but at her Father. She smiled slightly, feeling safer than she had in a long time.

"Hi Dad" She muttered weakly. He put a finger on her lips.

"Shh, don't speak. Its ok, The Doctor and I are here" He said softly. Rose tried in vain to turn her head in Martha's direction.

"Go...Go and see if Martha is alright. Leave me here just now" She whispered. Pete looked over to where Martha was sitting, propping herself up against the opposite banister. Seeing that Rose was going to be fine he shifted over to give Martha assistance while the Doctor pummeled West.

The Doctor pulled West's face up to his by West's collar, snarling at the taller Major, his eyes full of disdain and hatred.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" The Doctor said quietly. Martha was scared, she had never seen the Doctor so angry before since she'd been with him. West smiled up at him, his mouth full of blood.

"Because then what makes us different Doctor?" The Doctor threw West back to the floor with a crunch.

"We're not different West. We've both killed. The difference is...the reason we do it" He said quietly. Leaving the man on the floor, he dashed ro Roses' side, his hand resting on her cheek.

"Hey" She said weakly. The Doctor laughed in spite of the situation, while Rose did her best to take in a shuddery breath. "What took you so long"

"Don't worry, i'm here now. We're going home!" he said gently picking her up and helping her to her feet. Pete picked Martha up and the four began to walk out of the building. West pushed himself off the floor.

"Rose!" He shouted. Rose nudged the Doctor as best she could to turn around. With a heavy limp she slowly walked forward.

"What?"

"I just wanted you to know that I will always respect you as a squad leader..." he began, Rose rolled her eyes and began to turn around. A crack rang out through the house as West squeezed the triggerof the gun that was in his hand, the bullet connecting with the back of Rose's shoulder. She felt a warmth spread through her whole body. The warmth became more intense, turning into a burning pain. The blood was starting to turn the red of her dress into a deep crimson colour that began to drip onto the marble. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear anything. Her centre of balance shifted and she felt herself fall but was then slowly laid to the floor, the blood starting to pool beneith her. The last thing she would remember making out was a pair of dark brown eyes above her and a muffled voices shouting her name.

-- Well there we go then. Not long before the credits roll but please keep the reviews coming! They make me smile! --


	9. Dream Walking

It had been two hours since the quartet had stumbled back into the Tardis, much to the delight of Jackie, who had given up hope that anyone was coming back. She didn't realise why the Doctor had brushed past her without the slightest hint of an acknowledgement that she was even there until Pete came in and took her off to one side as soon as he could, trying his best to explain what had happened. After he had done that, he picked Martha up and followed the Doctor through the great ship to the medical area.

It was a hard thing to ignore, blood soaking through your shirt. It felt damp and cold against his skin and that scared him. He head rested against his shoulder, shaking from side to side at the force at which he was walking. He laid her down on the bright white bed and muttered to Pete to do the same with Martha on the opposite bed. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and began to frantically run around, gathering the tools and various fluids he would need to save Rose Tyler's life.

Two hours later and the whole medical bay was quiet again, the occasional bleep of the machine that was attached to Rose breaking the silence. It was showing that she was alive and as far as anyone was concerned that was a good thing. Martha lay sleeping on the bed across from Rose, her knee in the process of healing while the Doctor sat next to Rose with his head leaning next to her arm. He didn't notice Jackie walking in until she was sitting next to him.

"How is she?" She said softly. The Doctor didn't look at her or even try and move.

"She's stable. It's just a matter of time, I don't know when she'll wake up" he said so quietly Jackie was straining to hear him. She placed her hand on top of his, the sudden contact and warmth catching him off guard.

"Thank you Doctor" He suddenly lifted his head from the bed and stared at her like she had grown another head.

"Why? Why are you thanking me? Jackie I…I almost got your eldest daughter killed!" He said barely above a whisper. Jackie shuffled the chair closer to him.  
"Don't you dare blame yourself!" She said forcefully. The Doctor hung his head. There was no point in arguing with Jackie Tyler. Her demeanour softened again as she looked over he daughter who lay pale on the bed. "I always said she should get a desk job. Easy life, good pay and safe more to the point…but she would have none of it. She loved it. She loved putting on that uniform, going to work with Pete and Mickey and Jake and getting in on the action. That's just the type of person she is though" She said, making the Doctor smile, his mind casting back to telling her to stay put but Rose running off anyway and most times getting into trouble.

"That's true. I was so…proud when she said she was going to work for Torchwood. I though she was going to move on and be alright…" Jackie's head snapped up.

"You have no idea what it was like in that house. She wouldn't leave her room, she would hardly eat. She'd spend all day in bed holding onto that key to get in here. One day, not a special day at all, she came down for breakfast. She smiled at everyone and I knew she'd be alright…but she never stopped thinking about you! Moving on…well it wasn't an option" The Doctor didn't know what to say. He felt the exact same though. He had spent a very long time moping around in the Tardis, not wanting to go anywhere. He only went places to show Rose and when she was ripped away…he saw no point anymore. Jackie patted his hand.

"I think you should get some rest…or at least get changed into a fresh suit!" She said, taking in his blood soaked shirt.

"But…what if she wakes up? And…and…What if she needs me and I'm not there and she's scared and and…" His rambling was cut off by Jackie.

"DOCTOR! Go and get changed. I'll get Pete through and we'll sit with Rose alright?" The Doctor nodded weakly and with one last glance left the room.

-----------------------------------------

Martha's eyes fluttered open a few moments after the Doctor left the room. Weakly she turned her head to the left to see Rose lying, still in her blood soaked red dress, pale as a sheet and breathing slowly in and out like clockwork. She pushed herself up, propping herself up so she was sitting. She turned to Pete who was sitting in a chair at the end of the bed.

"How is she?" She said quietly. Pete smiled at her.

"Hey, you're awake! How's the knee?" Martha looked down at her wound.

"It's getting there, the Doctor did say it would be a long process. How's Rose?" Pete looked at his daughter sadly.

"She's stable. The Doctor said it's simply a case of waiting until she wakes up" Martha looked around her.

"Where is the Doctor? I would have thought he would be here" Pete smiled.

"Well he was, Jackie made him go and get washed up and maybe to get some rest. Jackie's fetching fresh PJ's for Rose. She said she couldn't lie around in those blood soaked rags." Martha gazed over Rose's features and noticed something; Rose was twitching. Her eyes were moving behind the lids.

"Oh my…Pete she's moving…sort of. I think she might wake up…." Pete bent over Rose.

"No it's not that…I think she's dreaming"

----------------------------------------

There was nothing where she was. No up, no down, no left no right. No pain, fear, sadness, joy, love or happiness. There was just nothing and that for Rose was scary. She noticed she was no longer in the red dress either. She was in a simple pair of jeans, trainers and a white tank top, her hair was just hanging long.

"Where am I!?" She shouted into the nothingness, sighing when she heard no reply. Suddenly a soothingly familiar voice called out to her.

"You're inside your mind" The male voice said. Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Inside my…what the hell does that even mean!?" She heard the voice laugh.

"You're unconscious. This is your mind…although in all fairness you are getting a little bit of help from a certain Tardis and a time vortex but that's neither here nor there…the important thing is that you know that this is your mind" Rose huffed.

"If it's my mind then why is it blank?" The voice sighed.

"Because you've not done anything with it yet. You need to think of things to do…things to dream…at the moment you really are being quite boring!"

"Oi! Leave me alone I've never been here before!" The voice laughed.

"Alright. We'll start with the basics. Think of me…and I'll appear…" Rose sighed.

"I don't think I can…."

"And why not exactly? Don't you want to see me?"

"YES! Of course I do its just…."

"Just what?"

"I'm afraid"

"Oh Rose, don't be afraid of your own mind…" She shut her eyes and started to vision the person who was talking. His leather jacket, short short hair, goofy ears and smile and most of all his piercing blue eyes.

"Are you...are you real?" She said, her bottom lip quivering and her hand reaching up to touch his face. He grinned at her.

"Sure am. I'm as real as you are right now! So...what do you want to do?" Rose looked confused.

"What do you mean?" He put his arm around her shoulders.

"I suppose I better explain. You see, you are in a sort of half-way house...limbo if you will. This is where you choose if you want to live or...well...die basically" He said with such cheer that it took Rose completely off gaurd.

"I...sorry WHAT!!??" The 9th Doctor shrugged.

"Look...your body went through A LOT of punishment. Now thanks to the Tardis, the fact you still have a tiny peice of time vortex left you sort of have an option in this. I..well...the next version of me did all he can to save you...and now its up to you BUT before you decide...want to go for a little trip?"

"What do you mean...trip?" The 9th Doctor grabbed her shoulders.

"Well you can think of somewhere to go or i'll choose a few from your memories for you..." he clicked his fingers and they were suddenly standing in the middle of the control room inside the Tardis.

"Well this is a good start...a little obvious but a good start..." The 9th Doctor said looking at his surroundings. Rose wandered around. It looked like the same Tardis, felt like the same Tardis and sounded the same but there was something different about it.

"Is there someone else here?" Rose said suddenly. She felt a presence behind her, something comforting and familiar.

"Hey Rosie!" an American accent came from behind her. She quickly turned around and looked Jack up and down.

"You havn't changed a bit!" She breathed. The 9th Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Of course he hasn't! This is your memory...remember?" Rose decided to ignore his sarcastic comment and continue talking to Jack.

"So...I really did mean it when I said there would always be a part of you with me" She said. Jack flashed her a winning smile.

"Thats right Rosie! And you remembered my good side...which is all of me by the way" He said with a wink making Rose grin. She had missed Jack so much and seeing him again was making staying in her mind a very inviting existence.

----------------------------------

"So what is it Doctor?" Martha said, watching the Doctor check over Rose. He took a step back and scratched the back of his neck.

"She's...she's dreaming..." he said quietly. Martha smiled.

"Well that has to be a good thing right?" He smiled.

"Yeah it is a good thing...I just would feel a little bit better if she'd wake up" Martha pushed herself up and limped over to where the Doctor was sitting.

"You know, when I was in medical school, I was told that people who are in a coma can still hear whats going on around them...maybe you should try talking to her" She said quietly. The Doctor didn't say anything. He thought it was a stupid idea at first but the longer his gaze fell on Rose's peaceful face the more he began to warm towards the idea. He didn't move or say anything for a while as Martha hobbled out of the room, her knee still on the last stages of being fixed. He could hear his Tardis hum sadly around him, feeling his pain. It wasn't helping that his ship was just as sad as he was, as everyone was.

"God i'm going to feel stupid doing this..." He muttered "But hey, it's just the two of us...so why would I feel stupid?"

----------------------------------

"So whats it to be Rose?" The 9th Doctor said. Rose's head was staring to hurt and confusion wasn't the only thing she was feeling. He walked over to her and stood inches away from her. She took a deep breath; he still smelled like the Doctor.

"What do you mean? I have to decide right now?" She said. The 9th Doctor looked to Jack and then back to Rose.

"Well I mean...you don't HAVE to but it would be nice to get a move on" he said. Rose shivered a bit, for her own mind it was very cold and she was sure she could control everything. He held Rose's chin with his hand.

"Come on Rose, you belong with me" he said softly, his mouth inches away from hers. Rose suddenly jumped back.

"No!...I mean...Well it's that"

"You've met someone" he said. Rose looked to the ground. "I already knew that...because it's me...well future me. He can be here too!" He clicked his fingers and suddenly standing next to him was the 10th Doctor. He was a lot cleaner than when Rose saw him last but exactly that same in every way.

"Ok this is getting weird..." She said. The 10th Doctor huffed.

"We're just trying to make you happy Rose, We're only wanting to show you how your mind can give you anything you want!" He exclaimed. Rose gave a small smile.

"Well what about my family then?"

"Well what about us sweetheart?" She hear a familiar voice from behind her. Spinning around her eyes fell on Jackie, Pete, Micky and baby Lilly, all smiling at her.

"Where did you all come from?" Rose said, stumbling back onto the console from the surprise.

"You STILL don't get it do you? It's. All. In. Your. Head!" The 9th Doctor said, prodding her lightly on the forehead as he said it. "We can all be with you Rose, anywhere you like. We could be here, in the Tardis. We could be in that nice big fancy house of yours. Anywhere!"

Rose closed her eyes and thought of a completely different place. Without her eyes opening she could tell where she had sent everyone, the smell of apple grass invading her nostrils. Her first adventure with him.

"Ahh nice choice! The 10th Doctor exclaimed looking around him. They were on the grassy field over looking the water with the fantastic view of New New York. She turned to them and Jack smiled at her.

"You're starting to get it Rosie! You see how inviting this is? We could all be together in any location you like...Forever. Never get sick, never age, never die." He said softly, running the back of his hand over Rose's cheek. His touch was inviting and warm but something still didn't feel right. She was starting to feel trapped, like everyone was moving in on her and begging her to stay. They were edging closer and closer, their arms stretched out, reaching to hold her. She started to move back a little.

"Alright, this is freaking me out..." she began to say. She looked behind her. Nothing but a cliff with a long drop and then water. She scanned the faces of her loved ones, all of them begging to for to stay. Everyone who had died, still alive and well and smiling at her.

"Maybe I could..." She began to say but was cut off by a strong femal voice.

"No Rose. Run! Run now!" Rose looked around her. She certainly wasn't controling that voice in her head.

"Who are..."

"That doesn't matter! You must run now!" Rose did as the voice comanded and she ran. She ran as fast as she could, her legs burning with the effort. But it was all going wrong, she was coming to the cliffs edge.

"What now then?" She shouted to the voice.

"Jump. Remember...it's all in your head!"

She lept from the edge of the cliff, falling through the cool air. It was soothing in a strange way, untill she opened her eyes and saw the rock under her coming at her quicker than she expected.

_It's all in my head. It's all in my head. It's all in my head. ItsalinmyheaditsallinmyheaditsallinmyheadITSALLINMYHEAD!_

Her mind was screaming as she tried her best to create a soft landing for herself but she couldn't. All she could focus on was the rocks and the water. Suddenly everything turned a brilliant white and Rose landed with a gentle thud that was no harder than if she'd fallen off the bed. Looking ahead of her from her position on the floor her eyes caught sighty of the hem of a white dress.

"Hello Rose" The woman said pulling her to her feet. Rose knew that voice and suddenly didn't feel so cold.

"Tardis?"

--- Well there we go. I thought it was going to end with this chapter but I thought against it. Please Review!! ---


	10. Emotions Destroy

He wasn't sure how long it had been since he carried Rose back to the Tardis. Days. Weeks. Months. It just didn't register. Jackie spent the most time with him while he sat next to her bedside, Martha and Pete coming to see if there was any change but the Doctor, He never left. Since he went to get changed and came back to discover a small change he decided he didn't want to leave again.

Jackie looked over his rough appearance. His suit was crushed, his hair was messier then usual and he was almost at the stage of having a very short beard. It wasn't a look that suited him, Jackie thought. He was practically wasting away too, basically refusing to eat and that wasn't healthy when you were as slim as the Doctor already was. It was times like this, when they were silent, Jackie wondered what he was thinking. If he was pondering the meaning of life or if he was wondering if he should go make himself a cup of tea but was too worried to leave Rose. Rose whose brow occasionally frowned making Jackie and the Doctor both wonder what was going on inside her head. Jackie sighed and stood up.

"Doctor, I'm going to go spend some time with Lilly and Pete. You take care alright? I'll be back in an hour or so" She said softly, patting him on the shoulder. The Doctor just nodded and kept his eyes fixed on the dreaming blonde in front of him. He pondered Martha's words earlier, about how Rose might still hear him and he hoped to hell she could. He'd faced so many unbelievable things but showing his true feelings, you had him there.

"Martha told me...well she told me that people who are in a coma can sometimes still hear things people say to them, they just can't respond. I really hope you can hear me Rose because I need someone to listen. Not just anyone, I need you to listen to me." He took in a deep, shuddery breath. Willing himself to go on and not completely lose all nerve.

When I lost you, I didn't know what I would do. I searched for weeks and weeks until I found a way to at least say goodbye and...When you told me that you loved me, you have no idea how happy and how heartbroken I was at the same time. I had so many perfect opportunities to tell you and I was too much of a coward to tell you...Well I'm telling you now. I love you, Rose Tyler" He let out a nervous laugh "And it would really mean a lot to me if you would wake up because I have so much to show you! I'm not going to take you for granted ever again" His reached his hand out and held onto Rose's, feeling reassured by the warmth of her hand.

----------------------------

"Tardis?!" Rose exclaimed suddenly picking herself up off the white ground she had landed on.

"Hello Rose! It's nice to see you up and about...so to speak" Tardis said. Her voice was smooth and soft, like silk. She didn't sound young but then she didn't sound old either. Rose could tell she'd seen a lot though and felt a warm rush at the sound of her voice.

"Tardis...what's going on?" Rose said, trying to hold back the tears that were wobbling on her eyelids. Tardis smiled softly at Rose and ran her hand over her hair in comfort.

"Yes, I have to admit the Doctor inside your head didn't do a very good job of explaining it with sensitivity I suppose. Come, sit with me and I'll explain" With a wave of her hand a white chair with a single leg in the middle rose up from the ground, Tardis motioning to Rose to sit. Rose tentatively went over and sat down, the Tardis sat across from her. She gave her a loving smile.

"My sweet Rose, I can't tell you how happy I am to have you back!" Tardis said, her hand holding Rose's and gently rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. Rose smiled back.

"I'm happy to be back too...at least I will be once this mess is all sorted!" Rose said with a sad laugh. Tardis continued to give a comforting smile.

"Well I better explain to you what's going on; you see when you took the time vortex into yourself not all of it was taken by the Doctor, There's still a tiny little piece connecting me to you. That's how I was able to keep running when I got to this universe. This is a place where you can make decisions without anyone pressuring you! You're body has taken an awful lot of punishment. Humans, tough as you yourself are, are very fragile. Our Doctor did all he could to save you...the rest is up to you" She said softly. Rose suddenly had a very keen interest in her feet and was trying to hold back tears.

"So...I'm going to die?" She said her voice hardly above a whisper. Tardis moved her chair closer to Rose.

"Not if you don't want to. The healing process will be hard but you will live." Rose took in a deep shuddery breath.  
"So will...will I get to stay with the Doctor?" Tardis suddenly let out a hearty laugh.

"Of course you will! He's hardly going to give you up after all this! He loves you Rose" Rose smiled, the tears now trailing down her cheeks.

"Did he tell you that?"

"I feel what he feels remember? And I know how heart broken he was when you were taken away from us so suddenly" She said sadly, the smile suddenly dropping from her face.

"How...I mean...What about Martha?" The smile came back to Tardis' face.  
"What about Martha? She knows all about the Doctors feelings and yes she would continue traveling but that doesn't matter! What matters is he loves you!" Rose let out a full blown grin. There was suddenly another voice around her that made the tears start running again.

"Who is that...is...is that the Doctor!" Rose exclaimed looking around her. Tardis nodded. She could hear him crying, telling her that he loved her and she had no way of responding. And that's what was hurting her the most.

--Little short chapter there! I'm doing my best to update ASAP. Review everyone! --


	11. Golden Hope

When Rose was in school, she was taught in science class what happened when sugar landed on an open flame in a small enclosed space. She could remember watching in wonder as her teacher pressed the small button, releasing the sugar and causing the lid of the tin to blow off in a large, smoky mess. She didn't know what it was about this simple trick. Maybe it was the flames shooting out from the tin and then subsiding just as quickly or maybe it was the sudden loud noise that pumped adrenaline through her body. This was the reaction that was happening in her head at hearing the Doctor's voice. Rose had found herself pacing up and down while Tardis sat with an ever peaceful look gracing her features. It was starting to get a little frustrating, the Tardis being so calm. Nothing seemed to phase the ship or at least the female representation of the ship.

"Well? What should I do? Aren't you going to help me?!" Rose exclaimed, her hands dragging through her long hair. The Tardis shook her head.

"I can't tell you exactly what you should do. This is supposed to be your decision and I can influence you" Tardis said with a soft sad smile. Rose suddenly let out a scream in frustration, slightly pleased that Tardis jumped at the sudden aggressive noise.

"Well...no offence Tardis but that doesn't help me very much!" Tardis sighed and patted the chair next to her. Rose walked over and threw herself down.

"Alright, I will ask you questions and you will answer then. Then you can think about your answers and make a decision..."

"I don't want to die!" Rose suddenly blurted out; offended that Tardis would consider that Rose would take that option. Tardis shook her head.

"Of course not but...I can't let you go until you really _really_ know why you want to live when the body is ready to give up" She said softly. Rose nodded slowly.

"Alright, ask away"

----------------------------

The Doctor had to admit that he did feel better since telling Rose his true feelings, granted she wasn't awake but it was a good start. Sitting there quietly with no reason to run, he had time to look at Rose. He knew what she looked like, of course he did, but he had never before had the time to sit back and really take in her features. She looked so peaceful laying there, her chest rising and falling with each breath. He closed his eyes and leaned back, visualizing her smiling at him, her hazel eyes sparkling just for him. Since they had been separated, Rose had gone through almost military style training which had changed her body dramatically. The Doctor noticed that she was suddenly very toned in all the right places. He wasn't ashamed to say he'd been looking, even in the extreme situation that they had been in; The Doctor had been sneaking a peek.

--------------------------

"How did you feel seeing the 9th incarnation of the Doctor? And Jack of course" Rose closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"I...I didn't know what to think..." Tardis waved a hand suddenly in Rose's face and shook her head.

"No No! Don't think...Feel Rose!"

Rose wasn't sure she could remember how. After all the training she'd been given at Torchwood and all the things she had seen and done, Rose had taught herself to hide her emotions. To block them off. She was afraid if she didn't that her emotions would destroy her.

"I felt...scared. Scared that he would be real. Scared that I'd have to feel the pain of seeing him and then having him taken away again"

"Anything else?" Rose gave a sad smile, a tear making its way down her face.

"I felt like I would be betraying the Doctor, the 10th Doctor. I felt like it would be wrong to stay here. It was wonderful to see Jack again but...it wasn't the same. It wasn't real and that's what I need...something real" Tardis smiled and stroked the back of Rose's hand, the soft touch preventing Rose from shaking.

"It would be so easy to stay here and create my own personal space where everyone would stay with me and never leave, never be unhappy. Jake and Mickey would be alright but...it wouldn't be real. I need that emotion" The two sat in silence for a moment, Rose's head facing towards her lap. Tardis lifted Rose's chin so the two women were looking each other in the eye.

"Good answer, but...I need to hear why you need this second chance and...We're running out of time" She said sadly. Rose gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean? You didn't mention anything about time!" Tardis gave her a sad but understanding look.

"Rose, the only thing that is keeping you alive right now is the vortex in your blood. You know what you feel. So just say it!" She said with a huge smile.

---------------------

"Any change?" Martha said walking in and attempting to hand the Doctor a cup of tea, doing her best not to show the disappointment when he turned it down.

"Not really, occasionally her eyes will twitch. I'm hoping that's an indication that she'll wake up soon. I've done the usual check on all the monitors but nothing has changed." He said defeated. Martha looked over her new friend with a sad smile, her eye catching a glimpse of something sparkling next to her arm. She move over and picked up the tube that was holding Rose's blood. Rose's scarlet blood with flecks of gold flakes dancing in the swirls.

"Doctor...I think you should look at this..."


	12. Not Alone Anymore

He stood perplexed, His eyebrow practically hitting his hairline while his eyes never left the tiny, blood filled tube. Martha, Pete, Jackie and Lilly were now in the room with him, Martha and Pete trying to calm Jackie down. Martha eventually turned to the Doctor and left Pete to it.

"Doctor? What is it? What's wrong with her?" The Doctor suddenly turned to Martha and gave her a massive grin, Martha wondering if the effort had hurt his jaw at all.

"Nothing wrong Martha but something very very very very very very very RIGHT!" He exclaimed running around the Medical bay like a small child. Jackie, Pete and Martha could only watch on and wonder what he was talking about while little Lilly laughed at all the excitement.

"You see when Rose took the vortex into her and I removed it I don't think I took all of it out. I have a feeling that this is what's making Rose dream" he said. Martha raised an eyebrow.

"Dream? How can dreams help?"

"Different kind of dreams, Martha. These kind of dreams are very real and have consequences on the human body. Whatever happens in these dreams will have effect in the real world. LOOK!" He shouted making everyone in the room jump at the sudden change in his vocal volume. He pointed to a bruise that was forming as they spoke on her chest. "This was never here before, looks like it was from a fall" He said. Martha looked from Rose to the Doctor.

"So what now?" The Doctor turned to face Martha, a smile still across his face.

"Now...we wait"

-------------------------------------

She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout and punch something and tell Tardis that she didn't care about her stupid questions anymore. She wished she was smart. Martha would be able to figure this out in a second, she thought bitterly. Tardis stood up and walked towards Rose, a small scowl on her face.

"Don't you dare think that Rose" Tardis said "You are so smart. Martha looks at the logical side of things but you can tell emotions and that counts for so much more where the Doctor was concerned. Just...say how you feel" Rose sighed, the Doctors image clear in her head willing her to say what she felt.

"I love him..." She said quietly "That's why...because I love him and he loves me and we never had a chance! I want that chance!" She shouted, a grin across her face and tears running down her cheeks. Tardis grinned at her.

"That's it! I'm so happy you said that because now...I can do this" Tardis reached out her hand and prodded Rose in the chest, Rose flashing a confused look.

"What are you...?" Her sentence was cut off by an immense burning pain inside her chest. She fell to her knees, coughing and struggling to get air to her lungs.

"Tardis? What's going on?" She choked out. Tardis smiled at her.

"You'll thank me later" she said as she began to turn around and walk away leaving Rose on the white ground alone.

----------------------------------

The machines started going insane, the high pitched beeps drilling through the Doctors head while Martha, Jackie and Pete stood back and watched on in horror as Rose began to writhe and twitch on the table. The something caught the Doctors eye. A warm glow was starting to spread across Rose's chest, where the bruise had originally been. He was terrified. For once he wasn't sure what he could do, not even sure if there was anything he could do. The glow became brighter, bathing the room in a brilliant white light.

"Doctor? What's going on?" Martha shouted over the din of the machines. The Doctor continued to stare at Rose who was now completely covered in a gold light. He felt a weird sensation inside his head, like someone was moving something to make space. He couldn't hear anything other than a familiar female voice.

"This is for you Doctor" Tardis said lightly. He looked around him in horror.

"What have you done...?" He said in disbelief. There was no chance for a reply as Rose's eyes flew open but they weren't hazel. They were completely gold. Bright gold. She let out a moan as cellular energy crept from her mouth.

"Doctor? What's wrong with my daughter?!" Jackie screamed, terrified at the sight in front of her. The Doctor could hardly believe it but suddenly the Tardis' words had made sense.

"She's...changed."

As fast as it had happened the sounds grew quiet again and Rose stopped moving, her eyes closed again and her chest rising and falling, reassuring the Doctor that she was breathing. The silence was suddenly broken.

"What the HELL was that?" Pete exclaimed, his cool exterior finally breaking. The Doctor turned to everyone.

"I need everyone to leave...right now!" He suddenly got to his feet, Jackie scowling at him.

"No chance! That's my daughter!" He grabbed Jackie by the shoulders.

"I need to know what just happened and for that to work I need everyone out of the room!" Jackie glared at him for a moment before sighing.

"Ok...fine. But as soon as she's awake you better shout us!" She said and he knew not to cross her. He liked his face the way it was and he wasn't ready to regenerate again.

Once he heard the door close and was satisfied that no-one else was around he reached over and felt the left side of her chest, her heart beating slowly then he felt the other side, his suspicions confirmed. The other heart was beating too. The Doctor suddenly fell backwards into his seat, trying his best to comprehend what had just happened.

"Tardis?" He said, reaching out with his thoughts. He felt warmth spread through his body indicating that she could hear him.

"Yes Doctor?"

"Why did you do that?"

"Because you both need a second chance" He stayed silent for a moment.

"How many regenerations?"  
"Three" He nodded. There was soft moan from beside him and he moved over to Rose, her eyes slowly fluttering open. She looked around herself for a moment, trying to figure out where she was until her eyes fell on the Doctors anxious face hovering above her. She gave him a weak grin.

"Hello" She said quietly. He gave her a tearful grin back.

"Hello, welcome back" She sighed and tried to push herself up so she was sitting.

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck..." The Doctor smiled.

"Not quite but close enough. Sore?" Rose nodded and he moved to help her sit. After a moment of silence, both of them just being happy that she was alive and awake, Rose turned to the Doctor.

"What happened to me? Last thing I remember was being inside my own mind and talking to Tardis and then she tapped my chest and I couldn't breath!" The Doctor took a very deep breath.

"You were dying. The Tardis gave you a second chance. Well let me put it this way...You know how I have two hearts well now you do too" Rose let out a short laugh.

"Yeah but you're a..." The Doctor nodded with a smirk. "No way...really?" He nodded again. "Well it bloody hurt!" She exclaimed.

"Well what do you expect you had to grow a full system inside, organs had to be moved around and all that" Rose smiled a little.

"So...what does this mean?" She said quietly, looking down at her hands that wouldn't stay still. The Doctor sighed.

"I was...well I...Rose will you come back traveling?" Rose smiled and suddenly through her arms around his neck, tears running down her face.

"Of course I will!" He grinned and squeezed her as tight as he could without hurting her. He suddenly pulled her back and looked straight into her eyes.

"I'm going to do this while I have the chance, Rosy Tyler, I love you..." That was all she needed to hear before quickly placing her lips against his taking him by surprise. He remained still for a second before relaxing into her embrace, his arms moving around her back. He had her back. That was all he needed to know.

--Sorry if this chapter sucked but I'm feeling a bit off at the moment :( Ach well. Please review! I love to hear what people think! --


	13. Happy Families

'Beep Beep'

"Doctor?"

'Beep Beep'

"Wha..."

"Phone..."

'Beep Beep'

"It's your Mother..."

'Beep Beep'

"It's your ship..."

'Beep Beep'

"I say again...it's your Mother"

'Beep Beep'

"I almost died"

'Beep Beep'

"Not allowed to use that excuse anymore. It's been over three weeks"

'Beep Beep'

"Aww come on..."

'Beep Beep'

"SOMEONE GET THE BLOODY PHONE!"

Rose finally rolled off the Doctors chest with a sigh and picked up the phone. It had been almost 4 weeks since Rose had been transformed from a dying human in a time lady for which she'll be forever grateful to the Tardis. Their parents had taken the remaining cash they had stashed in their old home and had decided to move to a townhouse in Notting Hill in London, Pete taking a new job as head of the Investigations at Torchwood. Martha wasn't sure about continuing to travel with the Doctor now Rose was back but decided to come along when Rose asked her to specially.

She didn't want to move in the slightest, the Doctors warm chest was far too inviting.

"Hello..." Rose said in a sleepy drawl. The Doctor smiling when she heard Jackie's shrill voice through the end of the phone.

"ROSE! What on earth took you so long to pick up the phone which I know for a fact is right next to the bed?!" Rose sighed and ran her hand over her face.

"Hi Mum, sorry. How are things?"

"How are things? HOWS THINGS?! Rose you said you'd be hear at 11 to help us move in!"

"Oh yeah, look we'll be there as soon as possible yeah?"

"Alright sweetheart, I'll see you soon then. We'll all have dinner when we're done! Bye!" Rose groaned has she heard the phone line go dead indicating Jackie had hung up. Rose dropped the phone and turned so her face was into the pillow. She felt a comforting hand on her naked back as she let out a growl.

"Rose..."

"HmmmHmm"

"We're in a time machine..."

She giggled as he spun her around and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Rose Tyler was finally home and that was where she was going to stay.

The End?

-- Well there we go! Thanks to everyone who reviews and enjoyed. If you liked this please read and review my other fics! --


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